The Serenity Prayer
by Jenneens
Summary: Logan screwed up in 2007. He humiliated the only girl he ever loved, and she walked out of his life without a backwards glace. It's now 2013 and he overhears a conversation. He wants a chance to make things right, to start over. Now because of him the people he loves are in danger. How can he save her life, when Veronica doesn't want him to have to do have to do with his daughter?
1. Chapter 1

A/N. I would like to make note that this is not a story that contains any religious aspects. I am quite a happy atheist. However, when thinking of a title for this little diddy, I thought back to Veronica Mars talking about the magnet in the movie, and with the coming plot that I haven't really begun to deliver, it makes sense. So, please stay with me.

_God grant me the serenity__  
__to accept the things I cannot change;__  
__courage to change the things I can;__  
__and wisdom to know the difference.__  
_

August, 2013—Los Angeles, Noon.

The sun was high in the sky, streaking the street with beams of light, making Logan blink then squint. It winked off of Mercedes, Lexus's, and the Rolex on Dick's wrist. Suit jackets discarded on the backs of their chairs, sleeves to once crisp Armani shirts rolled to their elbows. No ties. The unofficial official uniform for trust funders trying to look grown up, and that they did something besides surf and party.

Dick still did a fair amount of both. Okay, let's not kid ourselves, he did a hella amount of both, but he did manage to get into the office a few times a week. Logan however, mostly just surfed. Booze cruises, frat parties and weekends in Mexico he couldn't remember were replaced with cocktail hours, business functions and galas. He considered himself too broken, too damaged to incredibly fucked up to actually walk into a church, the waves were as close as he got to serenity. Maybe it was the stained glass that kept him away.

"_Yeah, yeah, I usually avoid buildings with stained glass."_

"_That's why you haven't come to visit."_

"Man, did you even notice the waitress giving you 'fuck me' eyes?"

"Huh?" Logan asked, having been lost in memories from so long ago, he half wondered if they were real at all.

"Dude. The waitress. Giving you fuck me eyes and fuck me boobs and all but laying herself on the table and spreading her legs. You didn't see any of that?" Dick rolled his eyes, a bit put out that he couldn't make eye contact with the girl, who was so twitter patted over Logan.

Logan shrugged, and a small flush crept up his neck, not because of the girl's overtures, but due to the fact he had been caught up in his own head, reliving things that couldn't be fixed, solved or made right. So, he stares down at his mahi mahi tacos in a defeated manner. Dick rambles on about some chicks he had met the night previous so Logan tunes him out and begins to people watch.

The table behind Dick has two guys roughly his age sitting down, having what he can only assume is a conversation similar to the one he's pretending doesn't exist at his own table.

"So how was Chicago, Brent?" Trying Too Hard With His Highlights says to I'm Trendy Because I Wear Neon Color Shirts, also known as Brent.

"Man, August in Chicago is no joke. Talk about humid. I was worried to leave my hotel after dark, because of all of the gangs and drive bys."

Trying Too Hard gives Neon Shirts a quizzical look and sips his Pellegrino. "Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't The Langham on the river and overlooks the lake?"

"Dude. It's Chicago. Murder Capital of America." There was a pregnant pause as Brent knocks back his drink. The ice cubes clink half heartedly along the sides of the crystal tumbler. "I will say this for Chicago though. The chick we're hiring for security, total babe." Mr. Highlights makes a 'go on gesture'. " CM Mackenzie Security is top notch even if it's only been up and running for a few years. They have made quite a name and reputation for themselves. They have offices in New York, Chicago and Neptune. Each of the three partners holds one of the locations. It's rare they all come together for one project. With the money we're planning on sinking into their business, they made an exception. Two women, a blonde and a brunette and the one crazy ass looking Mexican guy. But the blonde? Fuck me running man, what I wouldn't have given to nail that." He makes a lewd gesture as to the blonde woman's physique, emphasizing her tiny waist.

"Two chicks are partners in a security firm?"

"Yeah. Apparently they are all from this area. The brunette is one of the best hackers in the business today. I walked in and felt like she already knew ever dirty secret I've ever had."

Logan cocks his head. It had to be just a coincidence. It was a well known fact that outside of business, Logan had shit luck. It's not like some amazing information was just going to fall into his lap.

"I asked her to stay in my room for a drink as her two partners were leaving." Brent leers, because you know, drink is codeword for sex. "She told me she had to get home to relieve her babysitter." Highlights snorts. "You know I don't bang moms."

Well there you have it folks. It couldn't be her. _She_ wasn't a mom. _Well, not really._ Logan thinks. He is once again riddled by guilt.

"Yeah," Brent continues, "She was a super fox, but not even the hottest MILF is worth it. Too bad for you, Veronica Mars, because I would have rocked your fucking world."

Logan gasps and begins to choke. Dick began to thump his back. He hadn't heard all of the conversation Logan was listening in on, but he definitely heard that least bit, and he couldn't believe it. For once, because it happened so rarely these days, their thoughts were in sync.

_She had the baby?_

August 2013—Chicago 7:30 pm

Veronica watches the sun begin to finally make a descent. You can practically hear the humidity sizzle and burn off. It oppressive, but almost comforting. It's a cloak of security. People aren't that friendly when they have hair like Monica Gellar on her honeymoon. No one is sitting near anyone else if they can help it. Less small talk makes the hackles that are second nature to Veronica quiver and settle at her side, instead of rising to the occasion.

She watches a little girl in two high pigtails and shorts hop around the playground. It's not just any little girl though, it's her little girl. One that she never thought she would have, or w_ant _to have. Not until those two pink lines showed up on a home test. It was a pull, and intense ache to prove she could be better mother than her own was.

That exact moment her life changed. No longer was the desire to run around risking herself surging through her veins. The future she has meticulously planned out evaporated.

She was going to be someone's mother.

May 2007—Neptune (Day after Veronica votes S.3 e.20)

_Her short although determined legs move at a fast pace to catch up with Logan and Dick as they walk through the Quad. _

"_Logan! Hey, wait up please!" Logan turns his head and spies Veronica trying to not actually run to catch up to him, he slows to a stop._

"_What's up Buttercup?" Logan kind of slurs the words together. Clearly, the water bottle Dick has cluched in his hand isn't high quality H20._

"_I kind of need to have an important talk with you. Could we perhaps take this somewhere else, you know, somewhere private?" Veronica looks to both sides of them, noticing the amount of people around, and clearly nervous._

"_No can do Ronnie, Logan and I are going to head back to our place and plan out the rest of our trip. Our dudes trip. Meaning no dudettes. No Ronnies'…although that is kind of a dude name… I see what you did there with that. It suits you." Dick finishes, with a little smirk on his face, a little smirk, that if this was any other time Veronica would want to taze it right the hell off._

"_Right. Well, as much as I don't want to interrupt a homoerotic testicle festival, I really need to talk to you Logan." She pauses looking into his eyes deliberately and quietly says; "Please."_

"_I wish I could quitchu." Dick says, with a horribly fake southern accent. "Listen Veronica. Logan finally pulled all of the Ronnie tentacles off of him. Don't pull him in again. He has a new girlfriend, one waaaaaaay less annoying than you, so just get over yourself."_

"_Dick." Logan warns, his voice makes it obvious that Dick should just shut the hell up. However, Dick felt he was on a roll, the booze giving him some machismo._

"_You're doing the Polack now. We've kind of all seen that video, Mars."_

_Just thinking about the video makes Logan angry all over again. All of the sudden he just wants to hurt Veronica like she's hurt him over and over again. The rage swims though his veins and settles in his heart. The shriveled up, scarred little organ that beats to Veronica's name._

"_What would you possibly have to say to me Veronica? The time for talking is over. Dick's right. We've both moved on this time."_

"_Well, we have something we DO need to discuss. About last month. After we talked in the library." Veronica mutters, a flush spreading across her cheeks and heading down her chest. _

"_What are you talking about, Veronica?" Logan's voice gets loud, attracting a few people to look their way._

_Veronica is getting angry too. This is NOT the way she wanted this to happen. She can't help herself, it just kind of tears out of her mouth without her brain's permission._

"_I'm just a little bit pregnant Logan, and I thought you should know!" The few people that had looked at them when Logan' voice started rising have become more in number, and a few even gasp when they hear Veronica's admission._

"_Awesome for you. I'll congratulate Piz when I see him." Logan retorts, his heart shattering._

"_It would be really hard for Stosh to get me pregnant when we've never had sex. However, if you can recall we had sex about a month ago."_

"_Are you that desperate to get after Logan's money, Veronica? Christ look at you, just like your mother." Dick throws the javelin, directly hitting his target._

"_I don't want your money Logan. I just wanted to tell you, I thought you at least deserved to know."_

"_You should get an abortion." Logan whispers. Veronica sucks in an audible breath. Even Dick stops to stare at him. "If it really is mine. The kid wouldn't have a chance. God, could you imagine yourself as a mother? I sure as shit can't. You'd be a shitty drunk of a mother, just like yours. I don't want anything to do with this. Just get this taken care of!" Logan yells, breathing hard, chest trembling. _

_Veronica is shocked into silence, as the noise around them becomes cacouphanous as more people whisper and point. Some laugh and jeer. Her head is swimming in a sea of humiliation and a bitterness that she has never experienced previously. Before she can cover her feelings into a mask of indifference, Logan sees the abject anguish on her face as the tears roll down her cheeks. Before he can say anything else to fix the colossal mess he allowed himself to make once again, a small hand, fueled by embarrassment and heartache slams into his cheek, knocking his head to the side. The clear raised imprint of Veronica's hand pulsates on his face synced with his heart that wants to jump out of his chest._

"_Fuck you Logan." Veronica bites off. She turns on her heel and walks away, head held high, even with all the people watching the show that just occurred in front of them. She doesn't give a backward glance. Logan and Dick just stand there. Logan can't even begin to fathom how horribly that went down. Smaller and smaller she appears as she keeps on going._

_That was the last time Logan Echolls saw Veronica Mars._

A/N- This is just the prologue. I have a few things swimming in my head, and while I have never been able to keep a multiple fic going, I am determined to complete this. I would assume I am looking at a 10-12ish chapter story.


	2. Chapter 2

I realized after I uploaded the prologue, that I did not include a disclaimer, so please let us pretend that this was here all along.

DISCLAIMER: All Veronica Mars characters and commandeered dialogue are the creation of Rob Thomas (we must praise him). Situations in this particular story are of my own brainskull. All hail Rob Thomas in all of his epic grandeur and brilliance, may all of us be as genius as him. However, he can keep the second half of season three Veronica, that bitch was a total asshat and I hate her.

Amen.

Alright. He is the first full chapter. Its chock full from beginning to end, y'all. Thanks for all of the positive reviews. I got a lot of feedback suggesting that Logan would never be as mean/hateful/awful/douchey as he was. I got so much response to that I made a graph pertaining to all of the shitty reasons why Logan epicfail'd all of those years ago. It is included on my profile page, with a long lengthy explanation. Also included, is the picture I used to describe Laney, as well as links to The Wow Suite at The W and Veronica's house, which is located in Hyde Park in Chicago. All places named are actual places in the city. If you can't tell, I am a native to the area and used Chicago, not only because I couldn't talk about SoCal or NYC to save my life, but I thought it would be a good place for Veronica to start over.

"So, that was some shit." Dick pauses for effect. It was like he was waiting to be yelled at for saying something stupid, because he knew he has said something stupid.

Nope.

Nada.

Zilch.

Ab-so-lutely nothing.

"Earth to Echolls. Come in Echolls! What's going on in that head of yours?" Dick cupped his meaty paws over his mouth making astronaut sound effects.

What was going on indeed? Logan sat on a chaise lounge on Dick's back patio. He had been pretty much catatonic since being given the Heimlich from Neon Shirt. Dick escorted him to the car and drove to his place. Clearly Logan could not be left to his own devises.

_I have a child. I'm a father. Am I the father to an almost six year old boy, or an almost six year old girl? She didn't get the abortion, like I told her to; well, I more or less shamed her and demanded it. Fucking hell, I can't believe those things came out of my mouth. _He thought.

"Dude, I swear to fucking God, if you don't start speaking sentences at me, I'm going to load you into the car and take you to the nearest loony bin."

"I'm a Dad, Dick." Logan quietly said, voice caught between awe and incredulousness.

"Eh, not really dude. Dad's go to little league games and recitals and shit. You're just the sperm donor. You just gave the kid half of your DNA." Dick said, not to be mean but just stating the facts. He thought on it some more and then shuddered. "Sweet twelve titted Jesus, that kid is half Logan Echolls and half Veronica Fucking Mars. Poor little shit doesn't have a fucking chance."

That whole first statement didn't sit well with Logan. It's not like he had a spectacular paternal role model growing up, unless a thing for abuse, young girls, adultery, murder and a few attempts and the attempted kind of murder was currently en vogue for Father of the Year awards.

But that second part made Logan smile, if only a little. There was this tiny person out there that was half him, and half the girl he was unable to ever stop loving. While he wasn't certain that any kid deserved to have a share in the Echolls family dynasty, he was certain any kid that had a little Veronica in him or her would be freaking awesome.

_God, I hope if it's a girl, she has Veronica's eyes, _he thought. _ If it's a boy, I could take him surfing. Hell, if it's a girl, I could take her surfing._

His mind was slamming one idea after the other behind his eyes, like a silent movie. He wasn't aware that an indulgent gooey smile had settled across his face.

"Bro, man, I KNOW that face, and it better fuck right the fuck off your face." Dick snipped out.

"Wha—why?" Logan asked, actively participating in conversation again.

"The kid is what? Going on six, right? It's a small person that has had almost six years of Ronnie programming it to hate you. Speaking of the evil little pixie, it's not like she would ever let you see it anyways so what is the point of continuing this conversation? She would more likely punch you in the fucking balls and taze you until your spine turned to dust."

"Stop calling him or her an it, Dick."

" THAT is what you take away from all of that? My point is made, man. You have a kid, and you don't even know if it has some cash and prizes or a little lady flower. You know absolutely nil about this kid. Take comfort, or whatever, that the Echolls' line lives on, and go on with your life. You spread your seed and don't even have to pay child support. My friend, that is what we call a win-win scenario."

Logan considered himself an adult. He was Rick Responsible compared to Dick Casablancas, but hearing Dick talk, he insides twisted and turned, kinking together in a revolt of massive proportions. His entire being had begun to fill with shame, the likes which he hasn't felt since he was nineteen. He wanted to sit in a corner and rock.

He was no better than Aaron Echolls. A different sort of terrible, but terrible all the same. He felt the pricks of tears form in the corner of his eyes.

"I have got to get my ass to Chicago."

"Ahhh, fuck."

CM Mackenzie Security- Chicago

Veronica sat in her ergonomic chair facing the back wall behind her desk, none the wiser that her life was about to implode upon itself. The wall behind her contained two large screens with a lone figure in each, in offices of their own spread across the country.

The one on the right had a small framed woman with closely cropped hair. Her dark hair was bleached on top, with small copper highlights weaving through the mop. Her no nonsense face was framed with little makeup and Resting Bitchface. She was sitting at her desk, and all you could see was a slinky black leather tank top. In the bottom corner of the screen read the letters NYC.

Left held a shorter, stockier Latino male. His lips were pursed in a look that clearly said '_don't fuck with me'_. Where the collar of his crisp white shirt ended you could see tattoos traveling up his neck. The face was in juxtaposition to his body, which read casual indifference. He rested his ass on the front of his own desk, hands clasped behind his back. The corner of his screen said SoCal.

"He was a complete douche canoe." The Latino man said. The woman in New York's mouth twitched into a smile albeit for only a few seconds. Veronica couldn't help but press a hand to her mouth to smother her own smile.

"Douche canoe, Weevs? Where is this nomenclature coming from?"

"My little brothers have ruined me." Eli Navarro frowned, with a small whine to his voice.

"Careful there Eli, or people may think that hard ass biker gang persona you give off have been cracked."

"Shut your mouth, Single, White and Nerdy. Stop wearing leather or people may come to the conclusion you've lost your virginity."

"Eli. Mac. Stop being children." Veronica paused, "Although, adjective choice side, I agree with Weevil."

"He was a total…for lack of a better term, 09er, but he is not the company, and the amount of money Ellington, James and Nash Subsidiaries are offering to drop on us makes my Amazon Wish list very very happy." Mac offered.

"Yeah. We've had larger clients before, but this will make us. Completely make us. We have made a name for ourselves, but this will, if you will excuse my cliché, put us on the map. I can buy a home in Mexico for Lettie with this. Hell, I can buy her, my brothers and Carmen and I vacation homes in Mexico."

"I could make my Dad retire with that money." There was a small pause and then all three tipped their heads back and laughed.

Like any amount of money could or would make Keith Mars retire.

The laughter subsided when Mac swiped a tear from her eye. "Serious business now, we can't NOT do this. Mac. Plan of Action?" Veronica tried to get them back on topic.

"Jeremy Nash is the only of the three that is young enough to understand anything I say. I want to make them go as paperless as possible, so each should switch to tablets. Aside from that small fact, each device should be fully worked with the programs I've created. VAM2.4 would be the best runner for the things they need to accomplish day-to-day. I was also thinking lock pads at their doors. 6 digit random codes that change weekly. I also want to work the cameras in the tablets to turn on whenever they are on, feeds sent directly to my unit. See who exactly is using it. We really need to find the mole."

"Sounds solid. Think over all of this with a glass of scotch. See what else falls from the big, beautiful nerdy brain of yours. Eli. What Football meat sack rejects are you foisting on the gentle yellow underbelly of these rich, white old men?"

"I was thinking Potter. He just got divorced, and wants to get the hell out of here. He would like New York. From Chitown, I was considering Wood or Bagman. Both would blend better in the building and would be unobtrusive to the people who aren't in the know. Finally from New York, I am going to demand Chang. She's a born and bred New Yorker. That letter on James's life has me troubled. I want Chang on him 24/7. She looks like she could be a mousey PA, but the girl scares the fuck outta me. She's tiny, but she's a third degree black belt and is the best shot I've ever seen. No one would ever make her."

"I agree with you on all points, including the death threat. James makes the least amount of sense. Ellington has one foot in the grave. He has the experience and the client list. Nash has youth and charm at his disposal. He is going to be leading the company into the next few decades. But James? I've met sponges with more personality. There is something they aren't telling us, and I will figure the hell out of it. It pisses me off when puzzle pieces don't fit together. I want to run some backgrounds on James's family and underlings. The son rubbed me the wrong way as well. The answers are there, I just need to frakking figure it out. But for now, we have a prelim plan to finesse. I'll have Eloise transcribe this conference. Eli start getting the guy's contracts together so a soon as we have the green light they can be airborne. Is that all?"

Mac nodded her head, but Eli ducked his chin to his chest. He may have even bit his lip. If Veronica didn't know any better, she would say Eli "Weevil" Navarro was nervous, and that just didn't make any freaking sense.

"Eli?" Veronica waited, and Mac squinted her eyes.

Eli takes a deep breath and slowly exhaled, and acted like he is being led to the gallows instead of talking to two of his oldest friends and business partners.

"I may, MAY have seen Echolls in LA this week." This pause wasn't like the others of this meeting. It was heavy, loud. The silence filled all three rooms and bounced off of the light fixtures. Veronica subconsciously curled her shoulders for a split second before her spine went ramrod straight. Mac was torn between making a disgusted face for Veronica's benefit and glaring at Eli until he started to sweat. Eli was fast to backtrack. "I went to the restaurant where James's son Connor was having lunch with some yahoo. I wanted to deliver some backgrounds on a few private guys for him. I am entirely certain I saw Dick Casablancas's big dumb blond head, but I only saw the back of the other guy. I am not certain at all. Casablancas was waving his catcher's mitt hands making gestures about the uh…female form…I regret saying anything." Mac's glare intensified. He knew he would be getting an ear full as soon as their teleconference finished up.

"Well, alright. If that's it, I have to get moving. I have a date to get to." Eli chanced a smile. Mac tilted her head, just like Veronica taught her. "You guys have a good weekend. I'm already gone." Veronica clicked off. As soon as her screen went blank, Mac rounded on Eli, even if it was through screens and they were on opposite coasts.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! It just…I don't know, it, it fell out. I was so shocked, and I don't know Mac, shouldn't she know he's still alive? I'm about to become a Dad. Can't we just chalk it up to sentimentality?"

"I have two words for you Eli Navarro. Carmen. Karaoke." With that, Mac's screen went blank, and Eli was standing in his office, terrified and dumbstruck.

"Ahhh, fuck."

Meanwhile, back in LA

"So, I got in touch with Vinnie Van Lowe." Logan exclaimed upon sitting down to lunch with Dick. He was vibrating with excitement and practically giddy.

"Christ on a crouton, why in hell would you do that?" Even Dick couldn't fathom the stupid involved in that idea.

"I didn't hire him. I just wanted to know if he had a contact in Chicago. It's not like I can just call up Keith Mars and ask him. Knowing what I now know, I'm surprised I've lived this long without him showing up and sticking a sawed off shotgun up my ass and getting trigger happy."

"That is true. He loves Veronica more than anything else in this realm. Talking to the guy who got his teenage daughter up the duff and then publically shames her and tells her to get a sma-smortion, I assume isn't on his Christmas card list."

"Something like that Dick. Anyways, Bennett Anderson got in touch with me, and I gave him what information I had."

"I still can't believe you hired a Private Investigator to tail Ronnie. That's like, against the PI handbook, right? When and I mean WHEN and not IF Veronica Mars finds this information out, your ass is grass."

"I have a daughter, Dick." Logan says out loud for the first time, after he's been screaming it inside his head for the past hour or so. His voice was a comical mix of wonder and abashment.

"You, what?"

"I have an almost six year older daughter. Her name is Delaney. She goes by Laney. She was born on December 27th, 2007 in New York. She is in first grade at Morgan Park Academy. She's a top student and is the best reader in her class." Here, Logan pauses. There is a small envelope in his hands. Perhaps 5x7, definitely not big enough to hold legal size paper. The envelope begins to shake, and Dick realize its Logan's that are shaking. "He gave me a picture of her. It's her first grade school photo. I haven't been able to look at it. I—I'm not sure if I can."

"Why not dude? You've already come this far. Don't you want to see what your kid looks like?"

Logan lets out a stuttered disjointed breath. "More than anything." Dick makes a 'Well, go on then, asshole' gesture. "After I see her, there won't be any going back, Dick. She will be real, and…I'm just scared I guess." Scared was not the right adjective to describe Logan. Fucking-shit-his-pants-terrified was more apropos. Dick grabbed the envelope from Logan and opened it with some flourish. He pulled it out and took a good look.

He stared.

Then he stared some more. His pointer finger extended and it traced a shape on the photo. Logan couldn't take it anymore.

"Dick!"

"Sorry man, just, wow. I don't even like kids, but wow." He hands Logan the photo and Logan blinks a few times. On glossy paper held in his hands is the most beautiful little girl he's ever seen. Long blonde wavy hair falls to her shoulders barely held back by a pretty headband. A pink leather jacket goes over a white ruffled shirt. Her face is round and her lips have just a slight cupid's bow to them, just like Veronica, and she is smiling hugely, like nothing has ever hurt her. Huge luminescent blue eyes stare back at him with innocence and happiness. She was a gorgeous duplicate of her mother. However, there was one thing, one little thing that kept him looking. Seeing if any of him ended up on her. He couldn't figure it out.

"She has your chin." Dick threw out.

Yes, that was is. This beautiful creature was her mother through and through, but there was a little smear of Logan on her face. He'd take it.

"She's without a doubt, the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. That's my little girl, Dick. I have to figure out a way to apologize to Veronica, to, to meet her. I've seen her. I can't let go now." There was a quiet beat as Dick thought about what he was going to say next, and how he was going to say it. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't stupid, and he didn't want to hurt his friend.

"Did you uh, check out Ronnie too?" He finally settled for.

"No. I didn't think that would be right. I pushed her away in the end. It didn't seem honorable somehow."

"So you know nothing about her life?"

"Just the same stuff you overheard. She's a partner in a security firm. She lives in Chicago. She's a mom, and consequently a MILF. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just that… she could be married or something. I'm going to just assume that she didn't put your name on the birth certificate. If she married a guy, it would be really easy for him to adopt her. Casey just went through all that hoopla when he married Chrissy, right?"

It was clear from the look on Logan's face that he had not considered that. "Shit! Anderson isn't returning my calls! I have to get to Chicago, tonight!' Hurriedly, Logan jumps up, scraping his chair on the floor and reaches into his wallet to throw down some money.

"We, man." Logan pauses for just a moment and gives Dick a 'huh?' look. "WE are going to Chicago. You'd do the same if it was me."

Logan smiles and says nothing, because what is there to say? For better or worse, Dick Casablancas was his best friend, and if he had to go into unchartered waters with any person, it was going to be with him.

Chicago—Afternoon

Veronica waited outside the gate of Morgan Park Academy waiting for her daughter to get out of her summer field study class. Other parents milled about, but none approached her, and vice versa. _Well, not much has changed in this regard. _Veronica thought. _ Still on the outside looking in. All of these stay at home moms who have nannies because they don't actually give a flying fuck about their kids…_

Veronica was pulled from any other thoughts about her being isolated and combative when a small sturdy body ran into her mid section. Bouncy blonde hair and personality for miles exploded all around her, and Veronica was once again filled with the sense that something she had done in her life turned out perfectly.

Perfectly imperfect.

Riotous hair held back just barely by a thick sparkly headband bumped around a little lime green cardigan. Denim shorts and purple tights covered her knobby knees and there were adorable blue converse on her feet. Her daughter, her beautiful LaneyLou was a burst of color everywhere she went. If she wasn't wearing at least four different colors every day, then the day was a wash. Laney practically dripped happiness and vibrancy. Who was Veronica to try and stifle that?

"Hey, uh kid, not sure if you realized it, but it's practically 300 degrees out here. Why the frak are you wearing a cardy?" Veronica smiled at her daughter and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Laney grinned, showing off the missing gap in her mouth. She had lost her first tooth, a front one, two nights previous and thought it was hilarious.

"Ms. McGreggor didn't like the shirt I wore so she made me cover it up. I had this left over in my locker from before summer break started." With that, Laney unbuttoned her cardigan to show off a shirt Auntie Mac had sent to her. It read "_Doesn't play well with others"_. Veronica cringed but was internally chuckling. She remembered the conversation she had had with Mac after Laney pulled it off the box.

"_Keep your hair on, Mars. It's hilarious. She is totally your kid."_

"_Har har. You don't have to deal with the uppity who-de-whos on the PTA."_

"_Laney is a great kid, V. You done did a good job with her. She doesn't care about what others think of her, just like someone else I know. I thought it was a compliment."_

"_It is, mostly. It would just be nice to have some backup when it comes to the school. Someone else to take the fall for screwing her up. If she crashes and burns, there is no one to blame but me."_

"_Hey, hey! None of that talk. You were just a kid when you had her. You're doing the best you can with her, and it's a damn good job. You didn't ask to do this alone, but you are fucking doing it!_

Ever since that day, Laney's shirt reminded her of Logan and her failings as a single parent. She hated that after this time, she still felt inadequate in both realms. She couldn't get Logan to stay, and she felt like she was letting Laney down by not having a dad or dad-type person in her life other than her own father.

Oh well, it wasn't like she could change the past, and even she could, she wouldn't. Any reality where Laney didn't exist wasn't one she wanted to be in, and fuckyouverymuch Logan Echolls for wanting that to be a reality. Veronica squeezed Laney a little tighter and moved them down the sidewalk.

"Stick with me kid. I have the moolah. Let's go get some pizza." Laney raised both of her arms in the air and made fists making wooting noises, then commenced in a little happy dance.

_She IS totally my kid_, she thought as they walked off.

Overhead a plane flew over the city, about to touch down at O'Hare. On that plane carried two people Veronica would happily forget ever existed.

Chicago—W Hotel City Center

After Logan safely tucked Dick into his room in the WOW suite of the W Hotel, which looked like some creepy high budget porn dungeon, he showed Dick to the bar and skin channels, he flew out the front doors and hailed the nearest taxi. The taxi took him down Lake Shore Drive, which was beautiful in the summer at sunset, the bright oranges, reds and pinks swirling across the sky and reflecting over the lake…but the beauty was lost on Logan. He just stared at the photo in his hands, the one of Laney. Over the flight he had traced his fingers over every ridge and detail of her face, memorizing it. Her face was the only one he wanted to see. _Pshhhh, yeah, alright Echolls, you keep telling yourself that and maybe you'll believe it._

While it was the truth that Logan came out to Chicago to meet or even s_ee_ the daughter he never deserved to know, he was lying to himself in respect to her mother.

Veronica.

Really, it had always been Veronica. Logan never claimed to be a monk, but try as he might; he always compared every woman who shared his time, his bed and his life to Veronica. No woman ever took up resident in those places long. He figured it was because he was a professional fuck up, but maybe it was because none of those woman WERE Veronica. No matter how much she had frustrated him, how much time he spent worrying over her, and no matter how many times she made him feel like he wasn't worth her time, it was the tiny blonde fire breathing temptress that was never far from his mind.

And now he was going to face off with the mother dragon herself.

_Cowboy up, Echolls_, he thought as the taxi parked in front of her house.

She was doing well in the security business, he gathered, as he walked up to the black wrought iron gate. Her house was a dark brick with elegant and gothicesque architectural points. It was a semi detached home, and Logan thought that it fit her. Taking some deep breaths, and trying hard not to break out in a hardcore panic attack he reaches her front door.

With no solid plan and feeling like the end was nigh, he knocked.

Small feet pound the floor in an effort to get to the door and Logan hears her voice for the first time since that horrible day he made her walk out of his life.

"Delaney Lynn, what have I told you? I get the door. You never know who it could be. Now go back into that kitchen and clean up your crayons so we can eat the sundaes we made."

While her voice made his heart jump and thud pathetically against his chest, it was what she called their daughter that made his breath catch in his throat. His mind went blank, completely and horrifying blank as the door open and Veronica' eyes settled on him. They went wide and her hand that was clutching the door went white with the amount of pressure she was using. Logan said the only thing that was still running on repeat in his head.

"Her middle name is Lynn?" Logan couldn't honestly believe how fucking stupid he was! He made a living making words weave together in wonderful imaginative ways. He could quote all the great masters of literature. The greatest speech writers in all of recorded history were at his disposal, and he went with 'Her middle name is Lynn?"

_Holy tap dancing Jesus, Echolls. You are lead paint licking dumb. Six years go by and this is the first thing you say to the only girl you've ever loved? The one you made run off, carrying your kid. Well, I'm done here, you're on your own, you idiot._

Veronica's mouth hung open, and her eyes narrowed in what Logan could only assume was homicidal rage. Logan smelled the change in the atmosphere, as well as felt it. He could practically hear the electricity. His long lost fight or flight instincts kicked in and he dodged the tiny fist as it barreled for his stomach. Quick as lightening, Veronica turned back to the door and yelled to her daughter.

"Laney, Amanda needs some help really quick someone hit her garbage cans, go up to your room and pick out a movie to watch, I'll be back to watch it with you after I get the garbage off the lawn." With that the front door slammed and once again Logan was face to face with a tiny rage monster.

"What the actual FUCK are you doing here, and also, turn around, get off my property, and get the hell back out of my life."


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE: Pictures of You (Pictures of Me)

DISCLAIMER: All Veronica Mars characters and commandeered dialogue are the creation of Rob Thomas (we must praise him). Situations in this particular story are of my own brainskull. All hail Rob Thomas in all of his epic grandeur and brilliance, may all of us be as genius as him. However, he can keep the second half of season three Veronica, that bitch was a total asshat and I hate her.

Amen.

LAST TIME ON THE SERENITY PRAYER…

"What the actual FUCK are you doing here, and also, turn around, get off my property, and get the hell back out of my life."

Crickets.

That is all Logan heard in his head. His common sense and inner monologue had skipped town. All he could manage was constipated expressions and hand ringing. Veronica, however, was not afflicted with any such ailments, and began to rail on him. By the time Logan was able to tune into her diatribe, she had already worked herself into quite the lather.

"…Did you talk to Eli? I am going to murder him. Carmen is going to be a widow and a single mother and I have less than no fucks to give."

"I have no idea who Eli is, but I haven't talked to him."

"Eli is Weevil."

"This makes less sense to me, but no, I haven't seen or spoken to him since our freshman year at Hearst when I called him Jose Lunchpail." It was at this point when they were having back and forth conversation that Veronica remembered her firm position on hating Logan Echolls until the day she died.

"I don't think you answered my first question. Let me repeat. What the actual fuck are you doing here? I'll even be more specific with the 'here'. Here meaning Chicago, or even more in depth, my doorstep."

"Well, I had heard about Laney…"

"First of all, you heard about her six years ago when I told you that I was pregnant. You didn't seem to care much about her existence then. Secondly, how do you even know her name?"

"I heard two guys over lunch talk about Veronica Mars being a MILF. I guess you could have had a kid at another time, but I just…knew. It was our child that made you the mom the one guy would have liked to…well." Logan trailed off, embarrassed of how he was going to end that statement._ All that college learnin' and I am still a terminal dumbass._

"The problem is Logan, she's not OUR child. She's MINE. I gave you a chance all of those years ago and you told me to get rid of her. You told me to get a freaking abortion. You didn't want anything to do with her—or me. So from that day onward, she was MY daughter. I have made all the decisions; I have been there for every sleepless night, for every illness, for every booboo. You were off doing whatever or whoever that was more important than her. I'm her mom. You're just her sperm donor."

Logan recoiled. A small flush crept up his cheekbones. He was riddled with contrition.

"Look. I'm sorry I came here like this. It was a bad idea. I just found out about Laney. I reacted…"

"Look Logan. Now really isn't this time. I'm not sure it will ever be the right time."

"I get that. I fucked up. It's the only thing I'm good at, right? I just…if I walk away now, if I just give up, if I don't even try…I'm no better than him."

This shuts down whatever argument Veronica was going to roll with next. She stares at him in stunned disbelief. Both just stand there, not saying anything, just staring into each other's eyes So much heartache and tragedy intertwined between the both of them, their past a thick fog that neither can navigate through without dire consequences. The wind literally leaves Veronica's sails.

"Just go, Logan. I don't mean forever." She said as she noticed Logan's panicked expression "Just for the night. Let me calm down. Let me think this through. Come back tomorrow after five. Laney goes out every Thursday with a classmate and her family. I want you to think too. If this is something you really want." She backtracks again and shakes her head when she sees Logan's excited nod. "It is too early to say anything other than I am still so angry with you. You disappointed me, and humiliated me. You were never good with priorities before. Having a kid is all about priorities. Right now, my priority is upstairs waiting for me with a sundae and a movie."

Logan nods and makes motions like he is going to leave. He takes a deep breath and thinking this might his only chance, words start spilling from his mouth.

"God, Veronica, I think back on that day, and I can't connect me, the boy that loves you, and the words I said. I never once truly though any of those things. I swear to you. I won't make excuses for the things I said, because you deserve more than that, Laney deserves more than that. I was never ashamed to be with you. And the thought that you had my child after everything I did and said, how we were together, make me see just how much better you are than me. I've never spoken a word to her, and I know she is better than I will ever be. I'm entirely sure I don't deserve to know her, to love her, to be a part of her life, but I want you to know, I will spend the rest of my life endeavoring to be good enough to do so. None of what I said excuses me, none of it should allow me the chance, but I'm selfish enough to want it. I am willing to do anything and absolutely everything to do so." Logan stops and is panting. He probably said too much, and not nearly enough, but at least he got that much out.

Veronica looks a little shocked, swallows a few times, and eventually gives one sharp nod that indicated she heard everything he said. Her eyes don't meet his.

With that, Veronica opens the door and starts to close it, and thinks better of it and looks Logan dead in his dark eyes.

"This isn't even close to a start Logan. I am making absolutely no promises. If and it's a big IF something comes from this and you hurt her, in any way, I swear to God, I will kill you. Mr. Sparky will be the least of your worries. There will be no second chances. Not with her, not ever. I've changed in a lot of ways, but some things haven't. I can forgive, but I don't forget."

With that the door closes, not with a bang, but with a soft click. Logan's nerves feel frayed. He feels weak and energized all at the same time, adrenaline pumping restlessly though his body. He hasn't felt this damn useless and distraught since that fateful day.

Logan dejectedly walks into the suite, and closes the door with a soft snick. His head hangs heavily and his shoulders are slumped.

"Crashed and burned dude?" Dick asks, and traces of sympathy could almost be heard. Logan made explosion noises and moves his hands from his body as an affirmative answer. Dick was sitting in the main living area of the suite in just some novelty boxers that had "PULL DOWN IN CASE OF EMERGENCY" on the front. He was eating a bowl of chocolate ice cream that he was resting on his stomach as he flipped through channels. "Well, it's not like you thought it was going to go well for you. Or, that Mars would just call 'bygones' and welcome you into their lives." He paused, "Wait. Don't flipping tell me you actually THOUGHT that would happen." He looked at the chagrined expression on Logan's face and shakes his head. "And people say I'M dumb."

Logan sighs, "It's not like I really thought that would happen. I'm not delirious but it would have been nice? Tonight wasn't even that terrible, if I'm being honest. She yelled. She only tried to inflict bodily harm a few times. I didn't even get tazed. Clearly being a Mom has mellowed Veronica out drastically." Dick snorted.

"Did you get to see your sprog?"

"Nah. Veronica shut that shit down pretty fast. However, Laney apparently has a standing weekly date with family friends, so Veronica told me to come by tomorrow evening. She said she needed some time to calm down and my dropping my ass back into her life sink in. She many even let me in the house this time. Still no Laney sightings though."

"Let you in the house? Is she concerned you aren't housebroken?"

"We had our entire conversation including the THREATS of tazing on their porch of their house. She sent Laney to her room to avoid seeing me, not that I can blame her, mind you. She made up an excuse of having to help the neighbor clean up the trash that had rolled into her yard." Logan's hand went to his neck, humiliated to have to admit that Veronica thinks of him that way, but entirely understanding that if anything ever does occur with Veronica, Laney and him it will be a hell of an uphill battle. And also a fucking miracle.

"Harsh, man." Dick remarks, and Logan shrugs noncommittally.

"I don't have anyone to blame but me. She did bring up the point that she gave me a chance at Hearst, and my throwing it back in her face."

"Dude you were 19, and she just sprung it on you. You were with Parker at the time anyways, what did she expect? You to get on your knees propose and skip off into the sunset?" Dick asked, like it absolved Logan of anything.

" She was 19 too, pregnant, terrified and we—I just rolled her over the coals. Parker shouldn't and didn't factor into what I said or what I did that caused her to get pregnant. And you know that Parker and I were more than on the outs. We were barely speaking at the time."

"She just up and left though, dude. You did try to get in touch with her. Wally and Ghostworld shut it down per her request if I remember correctly."

"Dick, stop trying to make what I did okay. It's not. It was never okay, and it will be something that haunts me until the day I die. Yeah, Veronica left. It's not like she could stay. That confrontation was talked about, in grand detail, up until the time we graduated. She would have been an even bigger pariah there then she was in high school. Baby or no baby. You know Parker would have led that campaign too. If you recall, she wasn't too pleased with the whole situation, even though we really weren't together when Veronica and I had sex that night, or after."

"I guess I still don't get why you didn't just make a go of it with Parker. After she had the summer to be pissy and get over it, she wanted to get back with you. As I remember it, she wanted to jump on your dick pretty badly."

"I shouldn't have ever gotten with her in the first place. I made a mistake then. It's simple, Dick. Parker wasn't, and still isn't Veronica." Dick once again shakes his head and mutters not so quietly about the hooks Veronica got into Logan.

"I still can't believe I never checked into it. I should have figured Veronica would dig her heels in, and prove everyone wrong. She was always stubborn as hell, and loved to do the exact opposite as someone or specifically, I told her."

"Why didn't you?" Dick asked, still not completely understanding why he cared exactly, but following along with the bouncing ball anyways.

"I guess I underestimated her. I always did. I said awful things to her. Things I knew would hit home and inflict the most damage. I knew she was terrified of turning into her mother, just the mere concept of being an alcoholic like Lianne… Add on the shitty mother comments, I knew it would hurt, knew it would be like pouring salt into an open wound. For the life of me though, I just can't figure out WHY I said the things I did. Veronica is tenacious as a pitbull when she is told she can't do something. I should have known." Logan whispers the last sentence.

Dick thinks hard on how to spin all of this to let Logan off the tenterhooks of guilt he is currently feeling, but he just can't. He does think that Logan shouldn't be wallowing in the emotion ocean he is currently trying to drown himself in, but how many times in how many different ways can he try to get his point across? Should Logan really feel that bad? Tons of kids grow up just fine without dads. Some are better off without them, thinking of Aaron, Dick Sr., Mr. Manning and Woody Goodman.

He shudders. Neptune didn't really breed good dads. Not that he ever thought Logan would be anything like them. He never really thought of Logan as a father thought, just like himself. Two dudes. Free and easy. Surfing, fucking having a fucking amazing life. Daddy duty was not a part of that plan.

This whole thing made Dick's head hurt. Too much drama, he thinks. Then again, drama and destruction is what happens when you involve Veronica Mars in anything. Dick offers the bowl of ice cream to Logan, who shakes his head. Reaching to the other side of him Dick grabs a bottle of scotch and takes a pull. He then passes the bottle to Logan, the amber liquid sloshes within the glass. Shaking his head once again, Logan stands up and moves down the hall to where his room is located.

"Where are you going man? It's still early."

"I want to meet my kid. I want to be a part of her life, an active part. That means making Veronica not hate me. It means making her see I've changed. I made a mistake of just showing up. It made me look like "Same Old Logan". I went off all half cocked without a plan. I write for a living, Dick, I can do better. I know I can. I just need to think this whole thing trough. I need a plan."

Dick looked at Logan for a long time. His eyes squint like he's thinking too hard, and let's be honest, he probably is. Finally his features lift like a light bulb goes off above his blond head. Once again the features grow dark, like a coming storm. He cusses.

"You still fucking love her." Dick accuses.

Logan gives a thin, humorless smile.

"I never stopped. I was just never good at the straight and narrow. I think I've loved her since I was 12. I was just too chickenshit to do anything about it for a long time. I won't make that mistake again." He goes into his room and closes the door.

Dick swears again and takes another pull of the scotch. He knew Logan, and had no doubts that eventually Logan would be able to win over Veronica, and at the very least, allow him into Laney's life, if not Veronica's bed once more. Then he would be stuck with her forever.

BACK TO RIGHT AFTER VERONICA CLOSES THE DOOR…

Veronica rests her forehead on the dark wooden door. Breathing heavily for a few moments she swipes both hands across her face and turns to walk up the stairs making a quick stop at a small chest by the stairs. She pulls one of the albums out. This one is pink and has a few spongy foam butterflies on it. She tucks it tight into her chest, like its armor. It very well may be before this night is over.

Pictures line the walls on the way up. Most of them were of Laney growing up, but interspersed were a few of her dad, Wallace, Keith, Alicia, Darrel, Mac and Eli. One picture stands out. It's a picture of a slightly younger Veronica in a stunning orange dress with a tall thin blond man. Both have large genuine smiles and seem happy to be near the other. She smiles absently and knocks on the door of the bedroom next to hers. Opening the door, she finally relaxes seeing Laney sitting on the bench by her window, transfixed by Rapunzel on the small television Veronica allowed in her room for such times. Two empty bowls can be seen, small smudges of chocolate sauce in both.

"I can see you didn't wait for me."

"You took too long. The ice cream was melting. I knew how mad you would have been if it got on my rug. You're welcome." Laney smiles, the gap in her teeth obvious, as well as the snark.

"You're too good to me kid. Can you turn off Flynn Rider being a sleaze? We need to talk." Obediently, far more obediently than Veronica would have at Laney's age, Veronica thinks, Laney turns off the TV and looks at her mother, waiting.

_How does one start a conversation like this? "Hey, remember how you don't have a dad and people ask you about him? You know how I had to pick you up from school this past year because you cried when a girl told you that you weren't cool enough to have a dad? Well, he showed up on our porch today and wants to just insert himself into our lives. The life I made for us without any of his help, the bastard." Yeah, I don't think they would suggest THAT in the parenting books, Mars._

"You know Ma, maybe start this talk out loud and not in your head. I might be able to follow better."

"Quiet, progeny. You're not old enough to be so smart or sarcastic." Veronica smiles in spite of the situation, because damnit, her kid is so smart and it just amazes her. "Okay, I don't really know how to start this conversation, so I'm probably just going to mess you up. Remember this day, so you may tell your therapist." Laney grins and nods.

"You've heard about Lilly, my best friend from high school…" She starts with, and nudges the old photo album in Laney's direction.

"Yeah, Aunt Lilly, she and you are in that picture in your upstairs office. You guys are all dressed up for a dance." Laney nods, having heard of Lilly and her Mom's better days. She's heard several funny things from Uncle Eli too. She absentmindedly flips the pages, unaware that she is looking at photos of her father as well.

"Right, kiddo. You also remember me telling you that I dated her brother, Duncan and she dated his best friend, Logan." Laney nods at all of this too. Her mom tried hard to be open with her, and talked to her like an intelligent young person, and not a little baby. Laney was so happy to have a mom like that. It made her feel important and trusted. All of her friends thought Veronica was sooooo cool and hip.

"Yeah, you were the Fab4, until Lilly died." Laney's smile turned into a frown, hating the idea of any of her friends dying. Veronica, however, has not told her daughter the circumstances of her friend's death, and would not until she was older. She has never heard about the who's or why's of Lilly's murder, or the series of events leading to it, including her breakup with Duncan. She was still far too young to understand the hurt and confusion. It was years later, and sometimes, she still didn't get it. Perhaps she would never be 'old enough' to know.

"Right again. What I have not told you until now, is that sometime after Lilly died, Logan and I dated." Veronica pauses, taking in Laney's expression and other than some slightly wider eyes, she doesn't seem mad. So, she continues. "Do you remember what I told you about your dad when you've asked?"

Laney nods, her fishtail braid swooshing around her neck. "That you were both young. Neiver of you were ready for me, but he was esp-esphu really not ready to be a dad. He said one day he would be ready to be my dad. So you moved to New York with Auntie Mac. We evenchully moved here. Right?"

Veronica swallowed. She never expected Logan to want anything to do with Laney, but she sure as shit wasn't going to take all of her little girl's dreams away. "Yeah, that's all true. I just never told you that the Logan that Lilly and I both dated and your dad are the same guy. Logan is your dad." Veronica lets that sink in, and looks her daughter in the face. It took her sometime to do the open and honest thing, but if anyone ever deserved it, it was her LaneyLynn.

"So, my dad is Logan." Veronica nods her head. "Why didn't you tell me?" Laney doesn't sounds too angry, mostly just confused and curious, so very much like her mother that it made Veronica's heart jump and a smile develop over her face.

"Up until now, it didn't seem to matter. Don't get me wrong, I would have told you eventually. This just moved up my timeline."

"What's 'this'?"

For a long time Veronica doesn't speak, she just swallows hard and starts to feel panic creep up her spine and eventually settle in her stomach. Damn Logan Echolls straight to hell for just showing up and blowing their pretty damn perfect life to smithereens. His (unwelcome) presence is going to change everything, and Veronica can't imagine it will be for the better.

"I heard from your dad today." Not a lie. "He thinks he's ready to meet you." "Also not a lie, but Veronica has HUGE reservations about this oneeven if he doesn't seem to. "He's sorry it took him so long." This Veronica thinks is a total lie, but what else could she say? Laney looks at her, like she could hear the things Veronica didn't say.

"So…he wants to meet me?" Laney finally asks, shy. It pains Veronica to see her daughter this way because shy is NEVER one of the things Laney is. She got the best and worst of both of her parents and she seriously doubted that up until now, Laney has never felt shy in her life.

"That's what I hear. But, I want to talk to him again before that happens. I told him he could come by while you are out with Marisol and Ari. I want to make sure he's grown up. I don't want him to hurt you."

Laney seems to understand enough of the situation. "Wait. He's here, in Chicago?! I thought he lived by Grampa and Gramma."

"He does live near them. I think he's in town on business." Laney gives Veronica a hard look like she doesn't believe a word of that, but lets it slide. For now. She does however; file it away, ready to throw that out at a most opportune time. Clearly, she was Veronica's daughter.

"Oh…and if it's true…if he does want to meet me?"

"If it's something you want to do, yeah, I guess." Laney seems to mull it over for a minute, and eventually shrugs.

"Can I think about it?" She shrugs again, an act of indifference Veronica knows all too well, but lets it go.

"Sure, kid, but you owe me a sundae." Laney smiles, and settles into her mom's chest. She turns the TV back on and they both sit on the bench and watch Rapunzel and her band if miscreants sing about dreams.

Sometime later, long after Laney had gone to sleep, Veronica clutches the house phone. She dials a number, one she's had memorized for years. It rings.

"Hey kid."

"Hey Daddy-o."

"How's my Favorite granddaughter?"

"Your only daughter, the apple of your eyes calls you, and the first thing you can muster up is about your granddaughter? Thanks padre, I can literally feel the love." Veronica grumps.

"Oh Veronica. She's just a younger, smaller, better version of you. What's not to love? Sorry sweet child of mine, but you have been replaced." Keith snips back, a smile on his face. He enjoys the easy relationship he and his daughter have always had.

"Dad." Veronica sounds defeated. Serious. Instantly Keith loses the easy going attitude and his cop persona is on display.

"What's wrong honey? Work? Client being difficult? Is something the matter with Laney? I know you've had a hard time trying to insert yourself with the other parents in her classes-"

"Logan came to my door today."

"That is probably the next after the last thing I would expect you to say."

"No kidding. Kinda threw me for a loop too. Try being here."

"So what does he want?" Keith asks, but already fearing and then rationalizing the answer.

"What else? He wants to know Laney. Apparently he heard some asshat client of ours talk about me in derogatory terms being a hot mom and did the math. He seems to think that after all of this time I owe him, or some shit." Veronica snips out, forgetting that she is talking to her father.

"While I appreciate your colorful language, I must implore you to remember that I am your authority figure." Veronica huffs a laugh out and Keith frowns, in spite of him saying that to make her do as she did, laugh. "Does he seem serious in wanting to know her, be a part of her life?"

"He gave that impression, but I trust him as far as you can throw him, and remember, I know you have a bad back." This time Keith frowns. "I am very much out of my depths here. I honestly never thought this situation out, because after the-incident-that-shall-not-be-named it was a good college try guess that he would ever give a damn." Keith hums in agreement. Veronica continues on. "I told Laney. About Logan being her dad. She knew of him before, but only in the most basic of terms regarding Lilly. I told her that he was interested in seeing her."

"Do you think that is wise?"

"Well Dad, I don't know, they don't really have a chapter on 'when your baby daddy shows up on your doorstep' in the parenting books. I'm kind of a novice at this parenting thing, and I'm mostly just flying by the seat of my pants. I just try to be like you. You never lied to me, did your best, respected me enough to lay it on the line." Keith feels the smile form on his face, and his insides grew warm. Veronica was a fantastic mother, and if her parenting role model was him, he felt like he had done the right thing with her twice over. "He's coming over tomorrow." She whispers out after a lengthy pause.

"What?!"

"Not when Laney is here, Dad, I'm not a complete moron. She'll be out with Marisol and Ari. He just showed up on my porch. I yelled, he fell over himself apologizing. I huffed and I puffed and he just took it. I told him to come back tomorrow after I had some time to let it settle. To give me time to think."

"And what do you think?"

"That I am in way over my head. I'm very hesitant to let him into her life. He tried very hard to ruin me. He humiliated me and just did not give a damn. But if that is my only reason in denying him, what kind of mother would I be? To not give Laney the right to know her dad just because my feelings were hurt? It should be, has to be two separate things. I'm just having a hard time doing the separating." Veronica's mouth puckered and became small. Being able to separate the two matters made her feel like she wasn't the worst parent in the world.

Keith smiles once again. "You are such a good Mom, Veronica. You make me proud. You've come so far. I know it was hard at the beginning, and I was upset, but I have always been so proud of you. Whatever you decide, it will be the right choice. For you and for Delaney, of that I have no doubt. It will have to be something both of you can live with, and whatever that is, Logan Echolls will just have to deal with it. You did the honorable thing and told him you were pregnant. What he did past that point is entirely on him."

She heaves a deep sigh. "I know. I DO. It is so easy to hate him that I sometimes forget that for a brief but intense period of time he was all I thought of, breathed for, lived for. I guess I can't hate him too much. He gave me the best accident of my life." She smiles ruefully. "Laney may have been an accident, but she was never a mistake, Dad."

"I know that Veronica. I don't ever recall being mad at you, just scared and apprehensive. That's what being a parent is all about."

"Being scared for your kid?"

"Hell no. Being scared OF your kid."

"Thanks for the pep talk, old man. Tell your old lady I said hello. I'll talk to you soon. Perhaps have bail money ready. You know, just in case."

"Veronica, I have had bail money set aside for you in case of emergency since you were 17."

"I knew I could count on you. Love you." Veronica smiles and starts to take the phone away from her hear but she can still hear Keith's parting words of; "Who's your Daddy?"

Veronica listens to the quiet of her home. It had been just her and Laney for so long. Was she willing to just let that go to make Logan happy? Would the end result make Laney happy? For the most part, she seemed unconcerned with not having a father due to the large number of male influence in her life. Keith, Wallace, Darrel, Eli and Dash. Funny that Veronica only thought of Dash now, considering how big a role he played in her daughter's life, then and in a different capacity, now.

She checked the locks on both the front and back doors. The alarm was activated. She made her way up to her room and sat on the steps in her room leading to her rooftop veranda. She decided she wasn't going to worry about it too much tonight. Let Logan do that. She was going to table the entire thing until he came tomorrow…if he came tomorrow.

Coming to a conclusion, she sent a quick email from her phone to Eli and Mac demanding an emergency meeting tomorrow at noon her time. She also sent a thinly veiled threat to Eli if he had ANYTHING to do with her current predicament. Opening the doors to allow for any breeze that might occur, an errant though whispers though her mind that she never once gave thought to. The thought that Logan might want BOTH of the Mars girls in his life.

She makes a 'pffff' noise and settles into bed.

Mac and Eli were of little to no help. After relaying the story, Mac's face went puce and laid into Eli. The tattoo riddled former gang leader tried to keep his cool, but eventually the threats became too much and he folded like a crappy hand at the poker table. He knew nothing of Logan and/or Dick overhearing Brent talk about Veronica's MILF status, or where she lived. He also made sure to point out he wasn't even sure if whom he saw WAS indeed Logan Echolls, and even if it was, he never spoke to, or encouraged the 'pendejo fuckwit' in anyway shape or form.

Once again Logan finds himself at the front door of Veronica's home. He had managed nothing more than a cat nap since he was last here and he felt tired and wired all at the same time. He knew this would be a defining moment of his life. What was said here and now, would determine if he got a chance to know his daughter, and to perhaps forge some type of relationship with Veronica. Perhaps it would never be the type of one he would like to have with her, but he would settle for anything. He rested his fist on her door, and then rapped his knuckle softly.

After a few moments, the lock released and the door opened to Veronica's blank face. Not the best, but at least it wasn't hostile rage. She steps aside and without a word, lets him into her home.

Once in the foyer he can see directly up the stairs, and the walls lined with pictures. The walls have life to them, many lives from the looks of it. Lives Logan has not been party to, due to his own cowardice.

Veronica ushers Logan into the room to their immediate right of the entry, the French doors open. The room is two tone gray with a large dark gray fireplace. Over it is a large portrait size picture of the entire family on what he assumes in Keith's wedding day, when he married Alicia. Both are there, and Veronica has her arm around Alicia's waist with a yearish old Laney on her hip. Wallace is next to Keith, a big grin on his face. Darrel, front and center, looks lanky and awkward, but his arm is extended over his head, holding onto Laney's pudgy fingers. Everyone has large, happy grins on their faces. Logan can almost see himself in that picture, to the side of Veronica, arms around her and their daughter, big dopey grin on his face. He would have been there. Been a part of it all, a part of a real family.

_So much time wasted._ He thinks.

Both stare at each other, so many things to say, neither quite brave enough to start. The issues and problems that were their lives together and apart, were so large, neither felt like they could ever be solved, ever be made smaller or put right. In Veronica's case, she wasn't sure she wanted to, or that her broken heart could manage it. She wanted to run, as she had done so many times in the past, but she wasn't that girl anymore, and it seems her past had finally caught up to her.

Figuring that he owed her as much, Logan took a deep breath and began.

"Your house is great." _Oh, good. We're back to stupid statements. Glad I showed up for this._ Logan's inner monologue snipped.

Veronica gave him a weird face that said; 'That's what you came here to say?' but gave a head nod and a small "Thanks."

_Yep, this is going swimmingly. Think of anything else, dude. ANYTHING. Like, oh I dunno, your kid?!_

"Soooo, awkward small talk over?" He sees her curt nod, and endeavors on. "All of the sorries I could say will never explain to you how ashamed of myself I am. I spent all of the years since you've been gone so determined to be a different person that I didn't stop to think about all the damage I caused as the old me. You, however, were never too far from my mind. The biggest collateral damage to Logan "Obligatory Psychotic Jackass" Echolls's war path of destruction."

"I think I never came after you, came after the both of you, was because I thought you would get an abortion. Not because you would have been a terrible mother, that was never the reason, never my fear, and clearly not, it quite plain to see how extraordinary you are…it's because…I thought I was giving you an out, because why would you ever want to have MY child? What kind of kid could come from the son of an adulterous, abusive, murderous sociopath, and a boozed up, drugged up, vacant shell of a woman? Obviously I was wrong once again, because she's beautiful. I'm sure inside and out. She's Mars through and through, and because of that, she is good." At this point Logan takes Laney's picture out of his shirt pocket, right over his heart, where he's had it since it first touched his hands, and shows Veronica. It is already worn around the edges and thinner in places where he's stroked his fingers or grasped to hard.

"She's resplendent, Veronica. I touched this picture for the first time, and I felt…complete. She the reason for every action, as ill thought out and poorly timed as they may be, for the past few days. I dream of her every night. The mere thought of her carries me though my day. I've thought I was lonely since the day you walked out of my life, and I am not blaming you for doing so, that lies entirely with me, but until I saw her, I never felt like I was alone. But, I am, Veronica, I am completely thoroughly alone. She is my family, YOU are my family and I will do anything, anything at all to deserve the idea of a chance that I can get to know her. To get to know you again, and the life that you have built for the both of you. This sounds entirely self serving, I totally realize, but I want the chance to make it up to you, to now be the man I should have been then."

"I will also never be able to adequately illustrate, how grateful I am that you gave her my mom's name. I was always in awe of your innate goodness, but I am sincerely humbled by it now. I thought I had lost my mom forever, and you unselfishly gave me back a piece of her…"

He trails off. Tears have been steadily running down his face as he tries to make her understand that this is a different Logan Echolls, and this one is so taken aback by her more so than he ever was before. Young, angry Logan was fall over himself, stupid in love with her, but older, sometimes wiser Logan was transfixed. Veronica's tear ducts have been equally busy. She had told herself she would be fair, and hear him out, but ultimately not relent. She would allow him to say his piece, his truth, and then let him know that she was not about to let him just pop back into her life and run rickshaw. However, something changed. Fundamentally. While she was still not happy with his past behavior, and that day will live in her nightmares for as long as she lives, his words have taken some of the anger, some of her bite away. Was it enough?

Still not able to adequately verbalize her feelings, she motions him further in the house, moving through the formal living area, and to the kitchen where she retrieves two bottle of water and walks him into the den/office area. She felt in charge here, this was her domain. She was Queen of her castle here, and many of the bids for clients were drafted here. She felt more in control here.

Once again, Logan looked around at all of the pictures that travelled the expanse of her home. He saw a few more of Laney, one in particular of her as a cubby, happy baby in some sort of ballerina dress made his lips quirk. There were more of Lilly and Veronica together. He was entirely floored to see one of him and Lilly, in the days he was so maddeningly in love with her. Their foreheads pressed together, both hamming it up for the camera, which had been held by Veronica. He was even more shocked to see a few of him solo throughout as well, one posed in a red jeep, another a candid of him, by the looks of it, it was taken in the brief time he and Veronica were together in high school. He turned to look at Veronica, eyes wide. She shrugs helplessly.

"Some of those times were great. You were a part of my life when Lilly was alive. It's not like I could have pictures of Lilly around for Laney to look at and exclude you. She's heard stories of you, just never with the knowledge that Logan and 'dad' are one in the same. Until last night anyways." He looked at her, and she couldn't tell if the expression on his face was pained or happy. "I don't lie to her. She isn't stupid. It wasn't a long discussion; she asked to think about it, what it meant, and you. She's like me that way. But yeah, she knows Logan and dad are the same guy."

Logan's head bobs and he turns away to collect himself yet again. He walks by the ornate built ins that flank either side of her desk. Books, and even more photographs are in here. It is quite apparent that Veronica's hobby is still a very important part of her life. A small candid of Veronica at her baby shower makes him snort. She is giving the camera a kissy face while holding a breast pump to…herself. Her belly is burgeoning and seems almost ludicrous with her small frame. It's clear to see she was all belly. There are a few more of her holding Laney in different baby stages at different events. He even saw a small almost wallet size photo of Meg.

The portrait on this mantle is of a toddler version of Laney. She is wearing a colorful tank dress, her hair in yet another headband blue eyes wide and what Logan would almost call a smirk on her little face. Once again his heart is full, until he turns to the opposite side of the room and sees Veronica in a candid photo with a good looking blond man. They are wearing matching sweaters. He sees yet another of the same guy candidly, once again with Veronica as a concert type venue. His breathing begins to quicken against his will.

_Shit, Echolls. It's not like you thought she'd become a nun. He could also just be a friend. A good friend. A good gay friend. Do NOT jump to conclusions. Just don't say something stupid._

"Boyfriend?"

_Yes, please, let's see how well this goes for you. You are currently wearing your own ass as a hat._

"It's complicated." She seemed to want to shut down any conversation dealing with this guy.

_Interesting._

"It's always complicated with you, Mars." He regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth. He was trying to go for funny. _I'll take 'Stupid Responses' for five hundred, Alex._ Her brows furrow, but she doesn't seem overtly angry. Warning bells begin to chime in his head.

_Wrrrrr wrrrrrr! This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill! Men, report to your battle stations!_

"That's Dash. Well, Dashal Coopersmith. Lord Dashal Coopersmith. He's…an ex of mine."

_Say what now?_

"Like, an actual Lord from England type of dude, or how Scott Disick is a "Lord"?"

Veronica scrunches up her nose and snorts. "He's an honest to god Lord guy from across the pond."

"No shit?"

"No shit."

"So, ex you say?"

"Yeah. We broke up around a year and a half ago. We wanted different things."

"Things like dinner locations and extras in the bedroom?"

"Things like him wanting to make me Lady Coopersmith and move my unrefined ass to England." She says with absolutely no malice, but secretly enjoying the look of dismay on his panic stricken face.

"You're still anti-marriage?" Logan says, after a lengthy pause collects awkwardness.

"No, I wasn't against marrying Dash. He's great. He loves Laney. I didn't want to leave the states. At that time, we had just gotten the business into a really good place. I didn't want to give it all up, to be an American Lady in England. It sounds like a super shitty movie. That, and Dash's mom haaaates me. Makes Celeste look warm and nurturing by comparison." The both shudder at the memory of how vile Celeste was. Logan sobered up pretty quickly when recalling the conversation again.

"Loves?"

"Huh?"

"You said _**he**_ loves her. Present tense."

"Oh, yeah. He's been around a long time. He's always been around Laney. They have a blast together." Before Logan can ask more questions, or completely gather himself, the front door opens and then slams shut. Veronica gasps. Logan breaks out into a cold sweat.

"Hi Mom. Marisol had to bring me home. Ari ate a bunch of stuff and then hurled on the swing ride. Can we make lasagna tonight…oh. Hi?" Laney ran through the house shedding her little bag (orange), her little shrug jacket (teal) and kicked off her converse (one green and one yellow) and halts quickly upon entering the office and sees her mom with the guy who before last night was just the guy in a few photos from her mom's past. Now that guy was her dad. Even at five, this was messed up.

Logan cannot believe he just heard his daughter speak for the first time. Her voice is alight with mischief and laughter. It was bubbly and childish. He just stood there, like a tall useless asshat marveling in seeing her in the flesh.

"Laney! Hey sweetheart. I'm sorry to hear about Ari. You…uh…remember our conversation from last night. So. Delaney Lynn this is Logan Echolls. Your father."

Laney looks up and into her father's eyes for the first time. He was…tall. Like, super tall, and not just cause she was little. She might have even thought he was scary if it wasn't for the goofy grin that was about to crack his face in half.

Veronica didn't quite know how to feel. This wasn't in the plan. Was this ever supposed to be the plan? Or her life? There was a tiny part of her though, that didn't hate seeing Logan and her daughter…their daughter in the same room, together. She watched Logan fall to his knees to be closer to the same height as their petite little girl.

Veronica watched her heart breaking and healing itself all at the same time as Logan reached out his large hand, the same hand that had stroked her face, reverently so long ago, and brushed Laney's jaw. Laney leaned into the gesture, just a tiny bit.

"Hi, Dad."

Everyone cried a little bit after that.

Later that evening, as Laney was curled up in her room watching Brave, Veronica saw Logan to the door. He felt light headed, like his feet hadn't touched the ground since Laney walked directly into his life and into his heart. There was no physical possible way for him to stop the beaming smile.

"I-I can't thank you enough, Veronica."

"Don't thank me, thank Ari's inability to eat nachos and a funnel cake and then ride the swings."

"She sounds like an amateur and is clearly a bad influence on our daughter."

"Yes, any girl that can't eat her weight in fair food and then get on fair rides has no business in her life." For now, she was letting the 'our daughter' stuff slide. Laney seems enthralled by Logan, and vice versa. Having seen them together for the past few hours, it was like he never missed a day with her. It was an instant connection. They understood one another. And their smiles. MY GOD, their smiles. Laney smiled just like Logan, she had always thought so. The smirked exactly alike too. It was equally parts terrifying and heartwarming to see.

Her head was throbbing with the tumult of feelings and she as having trouble processing.

"Well, I better be going. I don't want to totally wear out my welcome." He smiles winningly.

"When has that ever stopped you from going anywhere?"

"True. I think I said this about a million times tonight, be she is outrageously awesome." He slowly makes his way to the door, feeling like he was leaving something vital to his existence here.

"I guess, I can call you?" Veronica isn't exactly sure how to proceed, and not sure what the protocol for your baby daddy showing up and just falling into fatherhood like it was fucking breathing.

"Yeah. You can do that. You should totally do that."

"Mom. Wait. Lo—I mean Dad. When can I see you next?" Logan automatically turned his head and looked up the stairs, and Veronica frowned.

It was already starting. She had made a connection with her father, and his lived thousands of miles away. Her daughter was going to get her heart broken, just like she never wanted to happen.

"We usually get pizza. Can you come for pizza tomorrow?" Laney asks Logan.

_Smart kid, she bypasses her mother's authority while looking charming while she does it._ Logan thought. "I think we should ask your Mom if that's okay, Laney. If you have a standing date with her, I don't want to intrude."

"Mom won't mind. Will you, Mommy?" Veronica's heart clenches. She rarely hears "Mommy" anymore. She knew she had been beaten by an even more miniature version of herself.

"No, I won't mind, as long as your father springs for it."

Logan grins. "Is there enough pizza in this city to stave off your appetite?" Logan quips, remembering all of the nights they shared a box…or three together.

"Yes. You see, this city has something called Chicago Deep Dish, and let me tell you, it can fill a person up. Even a person such as myself. The only place you ever need to go to is called Lou Malnati's. I hope you remember what I like, because I won't remind you."

"I like veggie." Laney says helpfully from the stairs.

"I'll be here at7 then." Logan opens the door, a little more at ease having a time and date set for the next time he lays eyes on the two most important people in his life.

"It's a date." Laney whispers from the top step.

Logan walks into the suite to see a blonde haired woman sitting astride Dick. While she has some extensions, from the looks of it, her breasts are real. She throws her head back, her hair a graceful arch (clearly a practiced move) and smiles a large grin Logan's way.

"You never told me your friend was so handsome!" She says in clear, concise English. Logan raises an eyebrow in question but his mouth quirks up just a little anyways.

"Logan, dude-man, meet Anabel." Dick says displaying the woman like he was Vanna White.

"Annabeth." She corrects.

"Same difference, babe." Dick grins and pushes his face into her chest.

"Would you like to join us? I do not mind." She says to Logan, batting her long, possibly, probably fake eyelashes at him and tossing around a beguiling smile as well.

"As…exciting at that sounds, I've had a long and thoroughly emotionally draining day. So, If you'll excuse me." With that, Logan attempts to make a hasty retreat to his room.

"Yeah, what happened with that? Did Ronnie let you in the house?" Dick asks while Annabeth nibbles on his earlobe.

"She did. I went all over her house. Dude, she kept a few pictures of me around. Veronica didn't tell Laney that the guy in those pictures was her Dad, not until last night, but she knew who Logan was. I FUCKING SAW HER, MAN!"

"Whoa. How was that?"

"Veronica didn't plan it, she seemed a little upset. Her friend got sick and so her mom returned her home. She just showed up and was there, and gorgeous and everything I imagined. We had dinner together. The three of us. It was like we were a real fucking family. We made lasagna. We sat around and talked. She has so much charisma, and I can see more of me in her now. In her appearance as well as her personality. I thought I've loved women before, and I know I have because, you know, Veronica, but the love of a child? Holy shit dude, it's so much…more." Both Dick and Annabeth stare at him. "I'm going to see them tomorrow. They told me to bring pizza. Hey! Annabeth. Are you from Chicago?"

Annabeth looks confused for a moment and then immediately responds. "What? Why do you ask?" Her face is questioning and nervous.

"Because Veronica said their favorite place in the city was called Lou Malnati's. It's Chicago Deep Dish. I've never heard of it. Do you know where it is?"

"Oh. Yes, there are several locations. Depending on where these ladies live."

"She's in Hyde Park." Logan offers helpfully.

"Then probably the one on Wabash. It is near to the Aquarium." She says, almost as if she has been tested on this information before. Logan looks confused. While she is undeniably gorgeous and amply chested like Dick is into, she seems to have too much depth for Dick.

"Thanks for the help. I appreciate it." She nods. She also gets up from Dick's lap and fixes her dress so it covers her unmentionables.

"I should be going." She says, her faced closed off and impassive.

"Aw, come on babe. Don't be like that. We can go into my room and get down." He shimmies his hips for emphasis, if she wasn't clued into what he wanted to do.

"You are repugnant." With that, she flips her hair and exits the suite.

"And once again, Dick is flapping in the breeze. Fuck, and she was the one all over me, man." Dick frowns and moves to adjust himself a bit.

"Looks like its Skinamax and Jergens for you tonight, my friend?"

"Bullshit. At least one of us had a good night. You did, right? It sounds like it." Dick looks genuinely interested to know. For all of his faults, of which there were many, he was always a good friend to Logan.

"I can't even describe how cool it was. She's still so young, but she's already so smart. She talks like a little adult, except for her lisping a few words because she lost her first tooth this week! She's already losing teeth. She loves color. LOVES it. She was wearing about seven different colors when she walked into the door. I could go on forever and I don't even know much about her yet." Logan rambles, happily.

"I'm stoked for you, dude. So, tomorrow night, and then maybe head home the day following that?"

"Wha—what do you mean?" Logan asks, thoroughly perplexed.

"I meant, how much longer are we going to be in Chicago for, or did you forget we have lives and jobs and houses on the west coast?" Logan look panicked, and his eyes get glassy.

"I can't go home now! I'm just getting to know her! I need to make up for lost time! Veronica doesn't seem to hate me as much as I thought she would, or should. I'm staying here for awhile, dude. If you need to head back, that's fine, but I can't go back. Not now. Maybe not ever. I can work from anywhere."

"Dude. I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself. This is just the first meet and greet. Things could still go to hell really damn quick. Have you forgotten WHO her mother is exactly? Or who her FATHER is? It's in her blood. I just don't want you to be disappointed when this all goes to hell."

"Fuck you, dude. She's my kid. How am I ever going to be disappointed in her?"

"I didn't mean her specifically, man, just the situation. You can't imagine that it's always going to go smoothly."

"Dude, she's a kid, not a sweater. Of course things aren't always going to be smooth. I just need to be here man. I am not going to fuck this up. Again."

"I hear you dude. It's cool. Have a good one. I'll see you tomorrow. You said you are going to hang out with the Mars ladies tomorrow evening, right?

For the third time in as many days, Logan finds himself walking up to Veronica's front door. He was holding two large boxes of delicious smelling pizza that had the depth of a slice of pie. To say he was excited to eat was an understatement. He was also excited to see Laney and Veronica again. He was positive of how things were going to go. Optimistic wasn't something Logan Echolls usually found himself being, but here he was about to see his kid again, to bask in everything that Veronica was and is to him. Optimistic, thy name is Logan Echolls.

He was thrilled, as he walked up to the door, and the feeling persisted until he reached the door. It was kicked in, the frame of the door splintered and sagging, the door itself curved in a bit by where the knob should be.

Logan drops the boxes of pizza and pushes open the now useless door. He immediately looks to his right and notices very little if anything out of place, so not a robbery. His eyes dart to up the stairs and his heart catches in his throat. Tiny feet dangle over the top step. He lunges up the stairs to see Veronica draped inelegantly over the top step and curving around into the upstairs hall, her arms outstretched like she was reaching for something. He can see two twin burn marks on her white tank top, she had been tazered. Upon closer inspection, he can also see blood on the back of her head and a large goose egg forming. He reaches down and begins bargaining with God for her to have a pulse. He feels one and exhales in relief as she begins to stir, she makes groaning noises to properly explain her current discomfort.

Almost at once she is at attention and almost cracks Logan in the head in her zeal to get to her feet. Her eyes are wide, frantic blood sluggishly making its way down the side of her face.

"Laney! Oh my God, Laney, where are you?!"

"Veronica you're hurt, let me look for her. Sit here and call 911." Logan tries to soothe her, although he feels the beginning claws of fear in his stomach as well.

"No! You have no idea where she would hide. Laney!" She once again screams and runs down the hall. She barges into a very small bedroom. It can barely fit a single bed and a small desk and dresser. The small painting of lilies is pulled away from the wall revealing a keypad. Typing a sequence of numbers Logan is not privy to he hears a door slide open as Veronica pulls the dresser which is on hinges away from the wall revealing an opening. Veronica falls to her knees and continues to call Laney's name helplessly, tears streaming down her face.

"I saw the door being kicked open, I was halfway up the stairs. I screamed at her to go to this room. The panic room. I had it installed after we moved in. I thought being in the business I am it was better to be safe rather than sorry. The guy was so fast, he got to me before I even reached the landing…Oh my God Logan, someone has my baby!" She collapses into his arms, her face pressed into his chest, huge heart wrenching sobs rip their way out of her mouth.

Sliding them down the wall, he pulls his cell phone out of his shirt pocket and calls the authorities.

'Hello, 911? Yes. My Girlfriend's house was broken into. 1372 E 52nd St. Our daughter has been kidnapped. Please hurry." That done, he drops his phone, pulls Veronica closer to him, bends his head to hers and cries as well.

A/N: I would sincerely like to apologize for me not getting this up faster. My health had been on a decline and it was a never ending series of doctors' visits and medicines. I'm feeling better now, and my doctor has figured out my problem and we have started the process of fixing it. Thank you for your understanding. This is my longest chapter yet, as a thank you for your patient waiting. And yes, Dash is Dax. I wanted Veronica to have a guy in her life, and when looking at pictures, Dax is clearly the only guy she's around. Do let me know if you would like to see the pictures I described of Dash, Laney and old school Logan and Lilly. The title of this chapter is a combination of two songs that inspired all of the photography. Pictures of You By The Cure and Pictures of You, Pictures of Me By The Last Goodbye. Listen to the lyrics of both, and you'll get a good idea of how LoVe were feeling during their second interaction. Lastly, y'all I want to tell you, there is a Banana Yellow Xterra in my neighborhood that I am seeing absolutely everywhere. I actually think the guy who owns it lives a few units down from me. Whenever I see it, I get a dopey grin on my face. That is all. Catch you on the flip side.


	4. Chapter 4- Even Angels Fall

DISCLAIMER: All Veronica Mars characters and commandeered dialogue are the creation of Rob Thomas (we must praise him). Situations in this particular story are of my own brainskull. All hail Rob Thomas in all of his epic grandeur and brilliance, may all of us be as genius as him. However, he can keep the second half of season three Veronica, that bitch was a total asshat and I hate her.

Amen.

A/N: This has been a mammoth undertaking. This chapter has morphed into three. There was just so much I didn't think of when I outlined it. The next two should come to you much faster than this one did. So much research went into FBI and how they operate a child kidnapping. I went over videos of parents talking to the press. How cops and Feds work together or not. You should get the whole gang back together in the next installment. I know some of you might not think the little bits of humor as appropriate, but I can't imagine Logan or Veronica's sarcasm ever deserting them. Also, it's very dark subject matter and I felt there needed to be little moments of levity.

LAST TIME ON THE SERENITY PRAYER…

'Hello, 911? Yes. My Girlfriend's house was broken into. 1372 E 52nd St. Our daughter has been kidnapped. Please hurry." That done, he drops his phone, pulls Veronica closer to him, bends his head to hers and cries as well.

CHAPTER FOUR PART ONE: Even Angels Fall Song by Jessica Riddle

Logan POV 0h 0 m Since Kidnapping While it felt like hours, I only sat with Veronica upstairs for a few minutes. I knew that the authorities would be here quickly. Veronica was in no shape to walk, let alone traverse the stairs, so I pulled her entirely into my lap and slowly raised my legs up, pushing my back against the wall using it as leverage until I was in a standing position. Veronica proceeded to press her face into my shirt, and continued on with crying, making these horrible little whimpering noises when she forget to breathe. The sounds tore at my insides.

Carrying her into the gray room off the foyer, the first room where I saw Keith and Alicia's wedding portrait…was that only yesterday? I sat her down on the couch in there and made my way to the front door. Her protests were feeble, and I was really starting to fear that she was moving from shock into full on catatonia. Tears still fell from her cheeks, a seemingly endless supply of tears, but she just pulled her knees up to her chest and rocked. It reminded me of how she described Duncan the day Lilly died. That similarity drove spikes of panic through my chest. Veronica was no Duncan. She was stronger, smarter, fearless. Except when it came to Laney.

The door had fallen some more since I had entered. It was held upright now only by its lower hinges. Through the cracks I can see the flashes of red and blue and knew that the police had arrived. What I was not expecting however, were for guns to be drawn, and in my direction no less.

"Freeze! Hands where we can see them!" Feeling like I was in a bad cop flick that Aaron might have been in, I did as I was told, only a little terrified.

"Identify yourself.'

"Logan Echolls. My girlfriend and our daughter live here. I made the call. Laney, Delaney, our daughter has been taken." I began in a ramble trying to get all of the information out, and then ended on a choke. It was still so hard to believe. I had JUST gotten to know her. I refused to believe that last night was the one time, the only time I would ever get to spend with her. She was taken. It didn't mean she was going to…die. I had never done anything quite so terrible to deserve that kind of karma, right?

Normal POV 0 h10 m Since kidnapping

The guns were lowered, and Logan began to regain the feeling in his extremities. It wasn't the first time guns have been pointed in his direction, it probably wouldn't be the last either, but it didn't mean he had to enjoy it every time it did occur.

"Won't you come in?" Logan extends his arm in a bowing gesture and allows the police officers inside. Leading into the front room and Zombie Duncan/Veronica, he didn't know what to do from here. Offer them refreshments? Introduce them to the pod person Veronica had morphed into? Not that he could blame her, not really. He felt like finding the nearest corner and rocking, and he only knew of his being a parent for a few days. Veronica carried that little girl inside of her, bore her, nursed her and cared for her since that first moment. Frankly, the fact she wasn't speaking in tongue and ripping her hair out made him insanely proud of her coping skills.

Before he could open his mouth and insert his foot to his thigh, a tall and formidable dark skinned man entered the room. The entire feel of the room changed swiftly to that of competence and authority.

"Mr. Echolls. I'm Captain Atticus Gunther. I am very sorry this is happening to you and your girlfriend. You have the entirety of the Chicago Police Department behind you, and I will tell you now that we will do our damndest to being your little girl home." Logan notices he doesn't promise to bring Laney home, just his damndest. He would have to hope that that was enough.

The firm tone of Captain Gunther seems to have lulled Veronica out of her stupor, because Logan sees her shake her head, as if there were clearing the cobwebs inside, and gets up to shake albeit with some effort, Gunther's large and calloused hand. "Hello I'm Veronica Mars. Delaney is my—our daughter. How exactly are you going to find her?"

"We already have an Amber Alert out for her with the basic information we have. Young girl, blonde hair, blue eyes. We need specifics; like height and weight, and a current as possible picture. I understand you have had trouble in the past with media and new channels Mr. Echolls, Ms. Mars, but for right now, they are our best course of action. How long has she been missing?" Gunther asks after seeing Logan nod at the media comments. Veronica is already moving to her desk where she has a few current photos of Laney she hadn't yet framed.

"Less than an hour. I was only unconscious for a handful of minutes before Logan arrived." Veronica replied, as she thrust the photos in his hand.

"You were unconscious?" Gunther asks, and not waiting for a reply, turns to a young officer near him. "Call for a bus, Ms. Mars needs to be checked out."

"No, I'm fine." Veronica insisted.

"It's procedure, Ms. Mars. Everything we learn early on about the kidnapper and his or her methods is crucial." Veronica scowls but acquiesces to his request. In the interim however, she pulls out her phone and presses a series of buttons. She holds it to her ear and begins to gnaw on her lip, her face tight, yet haggard at the same time.

"It's Nancy. DEFCON 1. The cub has been taken from the den. I repeat, the cub has been taken from the den, this is NOT a drill. Jobs, Robin I need all hands on deck. Get wings in the air ASAP." She pauses, seemingly listening to the other end of the line and shudders, her eyes getting more luminous. "I'm barely holding it together. I need you guys. Thanks. Love you too. Bye." She hangs up and presses one button. Logan wonders who it will be now, not that the first conversation she had made a lick of sense to him.

"Daddy? I need you to get here as soon as possible. Laney's been kisnapped. You know I would never kid about something like this." Her eyes dart to Logan, and she replies, "Yes. He's here. No, I'm quite sure he has nothing to do with it. He met her last night. I'll tell you more when you get here. Bring the clan. All hands on deck. Mac and Eli have been informed. Yeah, you're right, I probably should call Dash. Later. I want a brief from the CPD before the Feds arrive. Love you too, bye."

All eyes from Gunter's questioning ones, to Logan's confused ones settle on her. The officers who were taking pictures and cataloging items all pause.

"My father is Keith Mars. You've read his book. He's a top notch PI. We need everyone possible with every skill possible." Veronica shrugs her shoulders, like it wasn't a big deal. Logan could still see she was running entirely on fear, but she was sounding more like the Veronica he used to know. The vengeful Veronica, the one who had a plan and come hell or high water, she would get what she wanted. And she would never wanted anything more in her life than to get her daughter back safely and soundly.

"And the other call, Ms. Mars? That sounded particularly secretive." Gunther inquired.

"I am a partner in a private security firm. All aspects of security. I was calling in my two partners. We have measures in place for clients, as well as ourselves and family. We never wanted to be caught in a situation we couldn't handle. Eli 'Weevil' Navarro code name: Robin. He handles the personal side of our security. Body guards, force and intimidation. Cindy 'Mac' Mackenzie code name: Jobs. She handles technology, programming and…background information. Her work is invaluable she is—"

"One of the best hackers in the world and should be behind bars for some of her 'work'". A woman's gruff and annoying voice sounded from the foyer area. She looked vaguely familiar to Logan, but he couldn't quite figure from where he might have come across a woman such as this.

"Is it me, or did it just drop about 40 degrees, and hell decided to freeze over? Hello, Agent Morris. I wish I could say I was pleased to see you, but we both know I would be lying." Veronica's eyebrows scrunch up on her face, but her words are saccharine, her smile cold.

"Can I assume from the greeting that you both know each other?" Gunther quirks one dark slash of an eyebrow.

"Agent Morris is the FBI agent who tried to lay kidnapping and accessory after the fact charges at my seventeen year old feet when we both lived in California. Isn't that right, Morris? Say, have you heard anything from Duncan over the years, because I certainly haven't."

"Veronica, please. This isn't going to help us find Laney." Logan implores.

"Oh, be realistic, Logan. Morris isn't going to help us find our daughter, she's merely here to gloat that what goes around comes around. Captain, is it at all possible to ask for a new Federal Agent for assistance?" "No can do there, Mars. I have the most seniority in the Chicago office and I requested this when it came across the system a few minutes ago. I was lucky to be so close to your home." The smile is cold and without any sort of comfort or desire to help.

"Morris, just because I'm a lowly cop doesn't mean I don't know the high ups in Fed. Are you entirely certain Director Oppermann is aware of your presence here? It seems there is a history and I don't have to remind you that every moment is crucial in kidnapping cases. If you don't start acting like an agent with the Government, I will be forced to inform your superiors, no matter how high up your _seniority_ goes. You get me?" Gunther spears Morris with a heavy gaze, his eyebrows furrowing further and further over his face until he looks like a Neanderthal, his bulky body close to the woman. His entire form reeks of intimidation as he looks down his nose at the blonde. Her mouth has a sour expression, her eyes still cold.

"Um, sir? The bus just pulled up." A timid young cop pokes his head into the room, not oblivious to the frigid temperature of the room.

"Excellent, thank you Creevy. Ms. Mars, if you would be so kind as to follow Officer Creevy to the ambulance to get checked over? Morris and I will set up the command center in the next room if that is alright. Mr. Echolls, I need for you to give me a detailed run down of the events as you know them to be. We have to keep everything close to the chest. When the public finds out that not only does Logan Echolls have a child, but it's with one of his father's victims, the one that caught him none the less it is going to be bedlam. Look alive people! We have a little girl to bring home!" Gunther dismisses everyone other than Logan and starts to set up camp in Veronica's Dining Room.

Veronica allows only the barest of minimum's looking over. _No ma'am, it does not appear you have a concussion. Yes, the burn seems localized and minor. I suggest rest, Ms. Mars._

"Yeah, I'll get right on that rest and relaxation while someone has absconded with my kid, you twit."

When Veronica gets back into her house, even though it was less than ten minutes since she exited it, it has changed drastically. People filtered in and out, busy with their tasks they had been given. Looking through the front room and into the dining room allows her to witness Gunter once again giving the federal agent a dressing down. Veronica feels a small but sinister smirk flutter across her face. She really likes Gunther. There are two small club chairs against the window, and Logan is hunched into one of them, his long legs up closer to his elbows than would seem comfortable. His hands are clutched together and wringing. Gunther walks back out and immediately goes to the other chair and settles his firm gaze on Logan.

"Please tell me how you came to be here, Mr. Echolls."

"Call me Logan, Mr. Echolls was my father. I would have changed my name long ago, if it didn't give me an in with my current line of work. I walked up to her front door and noticed that the front door had been battered down. I pushed it open and took a look over the rooms I could see. Looking up, I saw Veronica's feet hanging from the top step. Getting to her, I saw that she had been tased and I tried to wake her up. Upon doing so, she jackknifed like she hadn't been knocked unconscious and goes to the bedroom that seemed to be no bigger than a jail cell. She went behind a painting and typed in a code. A panel slide away from the wall and she crawled into what appears to be a panic room. Realizing Laney had not made it into the room, Veronica knew that our daughter had been taken. I called the police and now you are all here. End of story." By the end of the synopsis Logan looked gaunt, pale. His eyes were glassy and haunted. "I understand that you had only become aware of your parentage recently. Is that correct Mr…Logan?"

Heaving a great sigh, Logan nods and continues. "Yes, that is true. About a week ago now. I was having lunch with a friend and overheard two other men. They mentioned Veronica and well… her qualifications as a mother." Logan actually blushes, and then almost immediately pales. Wide eyes dart to Veronica and he gulps. "I uh, when I realized it was possible that I was the father, I hired a PI here in Chicago to see if it could be confirmed or denied. I didn't want to intrude on Veronica's life here if it was clear that I was not...well, it was clear once I saw a picture of her that she was my child. I know she looks exactly like her mother did as a small girl. But, when I saw her picture, I knew, I just knew she was mine. The line of her jaw, the tilt of her mouth. When Veronica told me her middle name was Lynn, my mother's name, there was no doubt." Logan continues to look at his hands, unable to meet Veronica's eyes, terrified of what he might read there. He did something he knew she would find egregiously wrong. Sending a PI after another PI. "I've barely begun to know her. But I can already tell you the way her eyes light up with mischief, the same way her mother's does. The way her lips thin into a playful smirk, just like me. Her laugh is electric and I love her. I may have just met her, but she is my daughter and I would die for her. Find her, Captain. Find the people who did this. I don't ever want their pain and suffering to end." With that, Logan gets up, and makes eye contact with no one. He makes a hasty retreat to the kitchen where Veronica can hear a crash.

She can't even muster up the anger to be mad at him for breaking something in her home. She would like to do the same. She feels though, if she begins in that venture she may never stop until her house is broken around her feet. Just like she feels on the inside.

"Ms. Mars. I have to discuss with you your need for a panic room. As you can imagine, it is not a common requirement in many homes. Especially so for a single woman who owns a relatively small albeit lucrative security firm. It seems…out of the ordinary and it makes me question you. What haven't you told me, or Mr. Echolls for that matter?" Veronica's mouth quirks and her eyes dart to the Dining Room where Morris is clearly listening but trying to remain unobtrusive and make it appear like she isn't listening.

"Please do not mind that woman. Soon enough she will be up to her eyeballs in press conferences and her CARD team. She won't have the time to allow for glares and rude comments. She has a few hours to impress me, and then I will call Oppermann like I said I would and hellfire will rain down upon her. Now. Please. Make me understand." Veronica really, really likes this man. She feels that in the end he will be the reason her little girl comes home. Taking a deep breath as Logan comes back into the room and settles in a corner. Her mouth says the information he gave Gunter is okay. Her eyes say _we'll be talking about what you said later._

"My company is not as small as we would like you to believe. You know, of course, that Chicago is only one of our hubs. Neptune, California and New York City also boast offices for CM Mackenzie Security. Everything I told you previously is accurate. Eli, Mac and I hold the positions I stated earlier. We handle a multitude of aspects of security. We are an entirely legal company. However, not all of our clients are…shall we say, patriotic law abiding Americans. We have security measures in place to ward off potential threats. One of the factions of Mac's side of the business is to assess and categorize threats such as this. I can tell you with absolute certainty that we had nothing like this on our radars."

"How unlawfully abiding would you say these clients are?" Gunther asks Veronica, serious but not accusing, yet. Logan's dark eyes zero in on Veronica's face, looking sharp, yet fearful that Veronica has once again dug herself into trouble.

"Varying degrees of unlawful abidingness. The three of us speak as little as possible of our personal lives. Some of our customers don't even know our real names. The client Logan spoke of? He only knew I had a child because he was trying to play grabass and I could tell he would be entirely put off by the idea of my having a child. We are not a shady business Captain. We have just realized that some of our clientele have varied and unique…needs. I will say though, that most of this particular part of the business is not handled by me, but by our technological teams. I suss out the super undesirables and do as much background as possible, but it is Mac that has the most knowledge in this arena. I just make it my business to know their business. The three of us are smart. We don't take unnecessary risk. I have Laney. Eli has a wife and child on the way. Mac has no such entanglements other than her parents and brother but she is by far the most conservative in our risk taking endeavors. I can't see any of my clients being upset with our services. We boast a very high percentage of pleased clientele."

"Could this be the work of someone not unhappy with your services, but someone removed from employment due to your findings? Or possibly, someone you did not hire? There are entirely too many reasons for someone to become desperate enough to kidnap. Money. Drugs. Blackmail. Revenge. Vengeance. Sexual desires. " Logan's mouth becomes small and pinched. Veronica blanches and closes her eyes, but continues.

"I guess it's possible, but I don't usually live in guesses, maybes and what-ifs."

"Is is possible that someone from Mr. Echolls past is coming back to do him harm?"

"That I highly doubt. Logan has literally been in Laney's life for 36 hours. It won't even be public knowledge that he has a child until news of this breaks."

"I won't lie to you Captain, as a teenager I was a hot mess that collected enemies like pogs. I beat the shit out of people for fun, I had sex with married women, I have been acquitted of murder, which by the way, I did not do…wow does that make me sound like father of the year…I've changed my life though. I graduated with a degree in Creative Writing. I've written speeches for politicians. Articles for magazines and papers. A few TV shows. I don't party anymore and I don't sleep around. I'm as reformed as a bad boy can be." Logan states, with no shame in his voice.

"Why hasn't a ransom been asked for already, Captain?" Veronica blurts out.

"That's a good question. What we need to start doing is asking smart questions." With that Gunter unfolds his tall frame and stands. All three hear screeches of tire on pavement and they look to the windows facing the street.

Three news vans park haphazardly in the street and teams with microphones and cameras and cables pop out. Both Logan and Veronica cringe. Media. The people they have hated and avoided for years are the same people who will be doing most of the work of getting their daughter's story out for the public to be aware of. They will be a large reason Laney comes home.

One van however, parked a bit more precisely does not have logos of TV stations on it. It is entirely unmarked. Three people emerge from it. A man in his late 30s who looks like he was All American in high school. Dark brown hair that has a bit of curl to it at the ends walks up to Veronica's house first. Behind him is a woman roughly around the same age as the first man, possibly a bit younger, her hair and face both a medium brown, and clearly of Hispanic decent. Bringing up the rear is a man she suspects cannot be past the age of 25 with strawberry blond hair and bright green eyes she can see from where she is standing. Despite the media crews and police that surround the area, he has a smile on his face. After talking with the officer stationed at the door and all three flashing credentials of some sort they walk into the room and enter in the room where Gunther, Veronica and Logan are. Gunther snaps his finger in the general vicinity of the next room, and with a witheringly hateful glare Agent Morris steps into the room as well.

"This is my CARD team. Agents Adam Blossfield, Angela Reyes and Tully O'Toole." Morris states. The first two nod their heads as their name is mentioned. Tully O'Toole waves his hand in an exaggerated half circle and grins again.

"I'm sorry, card team?" Logan questions, lost.

"C-A-R-D. Child Abduction Rapid Deployment. What do you think happens, Echolls? That a BAU really does fly over the US solving crimes in a hour long episode and then go about their merry lives?" Morris snips.

"Enough, Morris. This is your final warning. Either become a _goddamn_ professional or get the hell out. Logan, a CARD unit is an invaluable tool to use. They are FBI agents with in-depth experience and proven track records in violent crimes against children. CARD Teams consist of Violent Crimes Against Children investigators who have in-depth experience in child abduction cases. They aid in investigations, especially cases where a child has been abducted by someone other than a family member, which is the assumption we are currently working with, due to a lack of other evidence. This is a good thing." Gunther tells both parents. "Atticus Gunther, Captain CPD. Veronica Mars and Logan Echolls, parents of the missing minor child, Delaney "Laney" Mars. It is nice to see you again Angela, Tully, but as usual, I hate the circumstances. I don't believe we have met, Blossfield, was it?"

"Correct, Captain. Adam Blossfield, I recently transferred teams. I'm from the east coast, specifically Philadelphia." Adam Blossfield seems steady, constant. Like the waves of the ocean, and that comforts Logan. He gives off the same vibe that Atticus Gunther possesses, commanding, steadfast and authoritative, but with less of his demanding force. Blossfield was probably the type of guy everyone in high school liked. He was the Duncan Kane of Whereeverthefuck, USA.

Angela Reyes, although beautiful, seems unassuming. Dark hair kept purposely long to hide her face. Warm intelligent eyes that belay sympathy for both Logan and Veronica. She has seen a lot of these cases, Logan decides. It has made her a bit wary, isolated even, doing this job, but she still sees the purpose in it.

Tully O'Toole is an entirely different ball of wax. The perma-smile on his face, some might call simple, like he had some sort of learning disability, however, his eyes, they are sharp and shrewd. They have bore witness to terrible things. His limbs seem to have a mind of their own, one always moving or twitching, as if there was a song only Tully could hear. Logan was taken aback that he could not get a clear read on this kid. He would have to keep a firm eye on him.

"Thanks for the introduction, Morris. We do do (Tully snickers causing Logan and Veronica's brows to raise and for Morris to close her eyes in quiet shame) all of the things Gunther ticked off. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of resources to keep us up and running. We rely on small teams, and each member must have several qualifications and talents. Team members make sure the investigation moves quickly, efficiently, and thoroughly. We provide our field offices running the investigations with on-site investigative, technical, and resource assistance during the initial critical period after a child is kidnapped." Blossfield, their clear leader informs the terrified parents. "Kidnapping is an outrageously temperamental mistress and no one case is the same. I will say though, that this is the most high profile case I have ever worked." Tully interrupts Blossfield, and with no preamble starts spouting off the IMDB facts of Logan and Veronica's lives. " Logan Echolls, you are the son of two famous and infamous actors. One murdered your girlfriend in cold blood after she stole tapes of them flagrante. He also tried to kill another of your girlfriends, by locking her in a freezer and lighting it on fire. Clearly he did not succeed because she is standing in this room. He got away with murder only to be popped twice in the back of the head in the same hotel you yourself were living in. No charges have ever been filed in his murder. You now manage a successful writing career, and have invested your immense wealth carefully, allowing you to donate most generously. Your pet charities include; RAINN, The Survivors Trust and AFSP, which is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and several small shelters in your area that specifically deal with re-homing and the adoptions of Pit Bulls. Almost a week ago, you found out, seemingly by happenstance that Veronica Mars had the child you incorrectly assume she aborted and came east, to Chicago to meet said child, and to hopefully fix/resume a relationship with Veronica Mars. Veronica Mars, you are the daughter of a several times over failed sheriff and current Private Investigator as well as an adulterous alcoholic. You, with the help of your father, successfully solved the murder of your dead best friend to the detriment of your own well being. You also were vital to the solving of a bus crash that took the lives of several of your classmates, including your friend, Meg Manning, whom was also pregnant with your boyfriend's child at the time. Somehow, Duncan Kane, a 17 year old, with no higher education and little where-with-all in the real world, and a very cowardly disposition was able to escape the country and capture and run off with his infant daughter, Faith Manning. He has not been seen since. You were questioned pretty hard and are still considered a suspect by people unwilling to let the case go (at this Morris look like she wants strangle Tully with just sheer force of will, or The Force, and Veronica can't help herself and smirks just the tiniest bit) but have never been brought up on charges. You resumed a relationship with the son of the man who tried to kill you, and as a result fell pregnant. After a public alternation of you informing Logan Echolls of his impending fatherhood, you and friend Cindy 'Mac' Mackenzie left Neptune California and moved to New York. There you stayed in a tiny apartment while Mac and you formed the company now known as CM Mackenzie Security. You had several problems throughout your pregnancy, including Edema and Gestational Diabetes, possibly due to poor diet and stress. You delivered a healthy daughter at the end of that year. Your business with Mac was primarily web based for some time and you were able to make ends meet. Eventually you were able to expand, first to Chicago where you took over, and then finally in Neptune where you brought on Eli 'Weevil' Navarro. You had a long term relationship with an English Lord, he proposed marriage and you ultimately said no. Have I missed anything?"

Bossfield and Reyes wear tiny smiles, used to Tully's odd sense of bringing everyone on the same page with all past transgressions in his normal detached manner. Morris is once again shaking her head. Gunther remains passive. Only Veronica and Logan are utterly at a loss. Neither have ever met another person like Tully and not sure how they feel having done so. A pregnant pause fills the room as all six adults and the random people milling about struggle to get back to work. "Well, that is pretty much the cliff notes version of my life." Logan finally remarks after realizing his brain was not going to take most of what Tully divulged. Logan and Veronica stare at one another and simultaneously speak. "You had a difficult pregnancy?" "You donate to RAINN and shelters?" Veronica sighs. "I'll tell you more about it later. I suspect that we have more pressing current matters." "Correct. Let me bring everyone else up to speed." Gunther commands the room once more, but speaks quietly with the three newbies. Blossfield and Reyes look on attentively. Tully has an ear cocked in Gunther's direction, but his eyes sweep the room, and Veronica gets the suspicion that he is memorizing everything he sees. "It seems that Ms. Mars went ahead and called in the cavalry. She has extended family including a father, step-mother and two step brothers that are currently in the air heading this way, or will be doing so shortly. Her two business associates, one from the west coast and one from the east will be joining us. I don't believe you have any reason to suspect them, correct?" Gunther asks Veronica. "No, not at all. My parents and brothers adore Laney. They visit us out here often. My dad operates his own business and works as a Private Investigator. He is also the former sheriff of the town that Logan and I grew up in. My 'business associates' as you call them, are also Laney's godparents. Mac was in the delivery room with me. None of them would harm a hair on her head."

"And your biological mother?"

"She ran out on my father and me when I was 16. I have not heard from her since." All eyes go to Logan.

"I have no family, immediate or otherwise. My best friend Dick, uh, Richard Casablancas Jr. made the trip with me here. We are currently staying at The W."

"Dick. Dick is here. Now. In this city? In MY city?"

"Yes?"

"If he steps foot in my home, I will taser him. I swear to God Logan, I don't want to fucking see him."

"I know he isn't your favorite person Veronica, but he is the closest thing to family I have." Logan tries to reason with her.

"I'm not sure you realize this Logan, but MY DAUGHTER IS MISSING. THIS IS NOW OFFICALLY THE WORST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME. DICK IS HEAVILY FEATURED IN THE SECOND WORST THING TO HAPPEN TO ME. HE IS NOT WELCOME HERE. EVER."

"I'm sensing some hostility." Tully speaks for the first time.

2 h 35 m Since Kidnapping

Logan felt like his head was in a vise. Everything had happened so fast. Seeing Veronica. Meeting Laney. Laney being taken. Police and Feds showing up. It was like he had held the world in his hands, everything he never even dreamed of wanting, never thinking he deserved any of it, and it all just slipped away, like water in his hands.

The front yard was a madhouse of police, investigators, media, the weird looky-loos that follow media trucks looking for their fifteen minutes of fame, as well as the poor fucks who lived on this street. Beat cops have been canvesssing a several block radius; knocking on doors, talking to passerby, and buses and the ilk that were often in this area. Had anyone seen a little blonde girl with persons unknown? The resounding answer seemed to be no.

How had whoever that took Laney be able to get in and out without being seen? Does that mean he/she/they had a car? Logically that means there must have been more than one because someone would have had to subdue Laney while the other drove. The word subdue makes Logan gag and he leans over and finally vomits into a lilac bush.

2 h 50 m Since Kidnapping

Veronica is curled onto Laney's bed, holding the pillow to her face, breathing Laney in. It smells like her, like coconut shampoo. Clutching the pillow to her chest, Veronica keens and begins to cry. Great heaving sobs wrack her small body.

This is where Logan finds her. In his daughter's room. Police tape cuts across the doorway. Logan enters slowly, making his way through the tape to look at Veronica, in his daughter's bed, looking small, like a child herself. The wall behind her bed is a lighter pink color with small iridescent circles painted over it. The wall the shares the window and window seat has a white wall with black lined circles. Many of them are drawn in by hand with a multitude of colors. The window seat looks whitewashed and well used. Several stuffed animals and even a few dolls feature on in. A whitewashed dresser with a small flat screen rest on the wall opposite the bed that can be seen with a clear vantage point from the window seat. A fuzzy salmon colored rug makes its way across most of the floor, protecting the hardwood from wear and tear, as well as cold feet on winter nights. It is clearly a girl's room, but not the diaphanous Pepto-Bismol the Veronica had as a young teenager. From what Logan was able to gather on Laney, the room suite her. Colorful and happy, but all girl.

He approached Veronica in the same way one might approach a wounded animal that is known to be dangerous. His socked feet are silent in the carpet as he approaches her. Slowly, he raises a hand and gently touches her back. The sad little sniffle snuffle noises make Logan's heart stammer. This particular organ has had a work out the past handful of days, and he fears it may actually give out before this whole ordeal is over with.

"I want her home, Logan." Her voice cracks and falters on his name. His eyes begin to tear at the helpless tone of her voice. Sad and small, just like how she currently looks. He nods his head, even though she can't possible see him, facing away from him and towards the window.

"I know you do, Ronnie. I want that just as much as you." His hand travels up her back until it rests gently on her neck.

"I can't lose her. She's all I've had for so long. It's always just been her and I. She's the Thelma to my Louise. You know, without all of that murdering, robbing and driving a car off a cliff stuff." Logan can't help himself, his lips quirk up just the tiniest bit.

"Yeah, I know. But you aren't alone anymore, Veronica. You have me." His hands begin to flit through her hair, amazed that she's allowing this intimacy.

"I know we have so much to talk about, so much to do. I am still so mad at you. I don't know what will happen when this is all over…but right now…"

"Yeah Ronnie?"

"Can you just lay with me? For a few minutes? I—I can't."

Without acknowledging what Logan is sure cost Veronica so much to say out loud to him, he crawls into bed with the only girl he's ever loved. His arms encircle her and pulls, bringing her back to his chest. Then, they lay their quietly, in their missing daughter's bed, taking in her room, her things, and her smell. Comforted by the fact that finally, they aren't alone. Both cry silently.

"You might want to think about getting out of here before my Dad gets here. Or Eli. Or Mac. Yeah, no one coming is a member of The Logan Echolls Fan Club."

"I've always been the charter member of that club. I'm not going anywhere Veronica, ever. Terrifying friends and family be damned." Veronica nods, but not sure she can believe it.

3 h 30 m Since Kidnapping—Still no ransom "There still hasn't been a ransom made, or any contact from the kidnappers?" Angela asks aloud, even though she is desperately aware of the fact.

"Yes, that is true, and the more time that elapses without contact being made…well, I am sure all of you know how bad that looks." Gunther replies back.

"Are we entirely sure that the child has been taken? Mars is a media whore from what I recall, Lilly Kane, the bus crash, the Aaron Echolls trial, Cassidy Casablancas, she's always where the action is. Logan Echolls is no better from what I see. This could be a huge media stunt. I say we investigate both thoroughly." Morris's voice is snide and acidic. Her team looks at her in varying stages of incredulity. Gunther doesn't even deem a response. He merely pulls out his cell phone, scrolls through his contact list and brings the phone to his ear.

"Yes. This is Atticus Gunther, Captain of the CPD. I need to speak to Robert Oppermann. Yes, the Director of the Chicago Field Office. Interrupt him then, he's just sitting at his desk, with his tie tucked into his shirt eating a meatball sub. Yes. Thank you, I will hold."

Morris looks green.

"Hello, Bobby. Yes, it has been awhile. I'm sure you have heard that there has been a high profile kidnapping this afternoon. Indeed, it never gets easier, but that is not why I am calling you. I have a serious bone of contention with Agent Morris. Since the moment she has walked in the victim's home she has been combative and downright rude to the parents, the mother in particular. It seems they have a history concerning the kidnapping of Faith Manning, from Neptune, California. We are approaching four hours into this and all she has done is brow beat the poor woman and has done little to nothing to actually find the little girl. The sun will be going down soon and we will have to call off searches when it does. I would appreciate if there could be a new leader before the sun rises. I feel that Morris would not care either way if Laney Mars is found at all, and would rather try and piece together an old case she could never solve. You know this is out of character for me, and I always welcome any and all help you Feebs offer. She seems to think that she has the most _seniority_ at your office. Is that so? Hmm. Eddie Lowry would love to help? That's most excellent news, Bobby, thank you. Yes, I will Email over all of our findings ASAP. Keep you in the loop? Sure, not a problem. Oh, I will certainly let Clementine know that your wife wants to get together. Alright, I will let her know. Until we talk later. Bye."

The room, and every single carbon based life form on the first story has frozen in shock. Logan and Veronica had perched by the open French doors just as the call has connected, having heard the entirety of Gunther's side of the conversation. The CARD team looks whatever beyond shocked is. Tully has his entire face crunched together to contain what is surely a huge guffaw. Morris looks apoplectic with rage and fear. She had figured Gunther was more or less bluffing knowing Robert Opperman. It is clear not only does Atticus Gunther know the man, but it on close terms with him.

"You should be expecting a call, Morris. Your 'help' is no longer wanted here, and I will ask you nicely once to remove yourself from the premises. If you resist, I have some pretty bracelets that you could wear if you would rather."

If this day hadn't been a shit storm of fucking awful, Veronica would have been rolling around in pleasure. She did take a small amount of sadistic pleasure in the ultimate dressing down that Gunther gave Morris, knowing that an even bigger one was on the horizon. Okay, who was she kidding? She took a large amount of sadistic pleasure watching that terrible bitch squirm.

Morris rose to her feet and attempted some bluster as she made a slow exit. Before she reached the front door her phone started to ring. She immediately came to a halt and flinched. Removing the phone from her jacket pocket and looking at the caller ID her shoulder tensed visibly and she swiped to answer.

"Hello sir.

4 h 05 m Since Kidnapping

"This is Tandie Martin live in The Hyde Park neighborhood. A young girl was taken from her home earlier this afternoon after a break in."

"Jensen Michaels here! Logan Echolls has a love child! This child, Delaney Mars has been kidnapped from her mother's home on the 1300 block of 52nd Street."

"That's correct Barbara, she is a six year old blonde haired blue eyed little girl by the name of Delaney 'Laney' Mars. Her mother is Veronica Mars, you may recall her as the daughter of Keith Mars who together solved the murder of software heiress Lilly Kane. The childs' father is none other than prodigal son, Logan Echolls." Tandie speaks into her microphone.

"Assailants unknown at this time broke down the door and then proceeded to taser the child's mother. They took the girl and literally disappeared. Nothing has been heard from the kidnappers or the child since. Her parents are justifiably terrified." Jensen can see his own reflection in the camera and attempts to look upset.

"Her mother owns a successful security firm here in the city, with hubs on both coasts. Atticus Gunther, Captain with the CPD will be having a press conference in front of the Mars home within the half hour. It is yet unclear if Mars and Echolls will be in attendance."

"I have it on good authority that Logan Echolls was unaware of the child until just this week. It seems that there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. Foot searches will continue until 10:00 pm this evening, and then resume at 6:00 am unless the girl is found in the mean time. Back to you in the studio, Neil."

4 h 30 m since Kidnapping

"Earlier this afternoon Laney Mars was taken from her home. She is just six years old. She has bright blue eyes and sunny blonde hair. She stands at 3 feet four inches tall and weights forty pounds. While small and slight, Laney is an exuberant child. As you can see from this photo (Gunther holds up a photo of Laney and pans it across the people that have collected to hear him speak. The photo portrays Laney resting her head on her hand, her hair a controlled riot of waves. She is wearing a dark navy smock dress and perched on her head is a large and ornate headband with a large golden flower on it. Her eyes are huge and her smile is comical in that it is mostly a smirk and the spitting image of her father's own patented smirk. Her cheeks are still baby fat chubby and they blush a becoming rosy color in youth and vitality. She is clearly a gorgeous little girl) she is loved and cared for. Her parents are understandable heartbroken." Veronica and Logan stand beside and slightly behind Gunther on his left side. Veronica is clutching a ratty brown bear that is wearing a sweater. Her eyes are wide and luminous with unshed tears. She is tucked into Logan's side his other hand uselessly clutched into a fist at his side. He stands stoically, but his eyes are screaming.

"Currently, no ransom has been made. While we implore Laney's kidnappers to let her go safely, we ask them to make contact so as to assure her parents that she is safe and well. Having her gone is a horrific enough; please do not make them suffer in silence. If anyone has any information as to the whereabouts of Laney Mars or anything concerning her kidnapping please call Cook County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-535-STOP. All calls are anonymous, and with your help we can bring a scared little girl home to her mom and dad. I am now going to introduce Veronica Mars and Logan Echolls to read a statement they prepared. No other questions will be answered at this time. When we know something, so will you. I thank you for your time and diligence."

With that Gunther steps aside and briefly cups a hand on Veronica's bony shoulder as they move forward. The flashes of the cameras blind them. A humming silence fills the front yard of Veronica's home as spectators, and media personnel wait for word from the parents. Microphones are thrust at the twosome, hopeful field reporters waiting for a sound bite.

"My name is Veronica Mars, and my daughter has been taken from me. She's just a little girl. My only child. All I want is for her to come home, where she belongs. Laney is my entire world. Laney, sweetheart, if you see this, hear this, mommy loves you, daddy loves you and we are going to make sure you come home. Please please please, just let our baby come home…" Veronica dissolves into tears and Logan brings her into his chest as she continues to bawl. Logan looks down at Veronica briefly and then looks forward into the crowd.

"I've just only gotten to know my daughter, and that is no one's fault but my own, but I implore you to not remove her from my life. Ask for whatever you want and it's yours. All we want is our daughter back safely. Please, whoever you are…just let her come home. Laney, I am so very sorry this is happening to you, but I swear, I will find you, if it I the last thing I ever do. Just…stay strong. You are too much your mother's daughter. Strong and sure. I love you kid." Amid the flash of cameras once again, Logan ushers Veronica into the house as she continues to weep brokenly. Upon closing the front door, Veronica clamps a hand over her mouth, thrusts the bear into Logan's hands and runs for the bathroom. The door slams as Logan looks over the raggedy teddy in his hands. The bear is missing an eye and clearly well loved. Its little red sweater has faded, but the words on it are still clear enough for him to read with ease.

It says 'I luv u beary much.'

A/N: If you haven't guessed, Tully O'Toole is probably my favorite (original) character as of right now in the story. Personality wise, I kind of based him off of first season Dr. Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds. All nervous energy and knowledge that he doesn't know what to do with. For some reason though, when I imagine him, I see Robin Lord Taylor from Gotham.

A/N RANT: I've gotten several questions about how Dick is really a dick. I realize that Dick became a fan favorite on the show, and then even more so through the channels of fanfiction. Many great authors here have made unbelievable and entertaining Dick's. Moreover, Ryan Hansen seems to be a legitimately decent and cool human being. That being said;

I HATE DICK.

I hate Dick so hard. Cannon Dick is a shitbag. He tries to slip GHB to his, albeit craptastic girlfriend. She hands it off, and he doesn't care. He then carries a totally unconscious girl into a room where several guys come in and out. He then pokes, prods and humiliates his little brother. He ENCOURAGES Cassidy to rape Veronica. His only concern is his little brother losing his virginity and getting his dick wet. With what we have seen in the how AND the movie he has NEVER shown remorse. He has NEVER apologized. He has NEVER tried to come to terms and accept his responsibility for what happened that night. Furthermore, there has never been an issue with Logan vs. Dick concerning this. If there is anything I know to be true about Logan, when/if he finds out Dick's involvement in Veronica's rape he would have/should have gone batshit. I concede that when Veronica did tell Logan about what Duncan did to her (WHICH IS A WHOOOOLE OTHER ICKY STORY) she left out information. But, everything in me says Logan would have thought about this endlessly. He could have followed the evidence and came to the conclusion of Dick being the druggist. So yeah, I hate Dick. I don't feel bad. While I cannot say what will happen to Dick at the end of this story, I will continue to write Dick as I have, because cannon movie Dick seems to be as shallow and unconcerned as my current one.

END RANT.


	5. Ch 5 I Don't Love You (I Always Will)

DISCLAIMER: All Veronica characters and commandeered dialogue are the creation of Rob Thomas (we must praise him). Situations in this particular story are of my own brainskull. All hail Rob Thomas in all of his epic grandeur and brilliance, may all of us be as genius as him. However, he can keep the second half of season three Veronica, that bitch was a total asshat and I hate her.

Amen.

I'd like to explain my apologies and excuses in the severe tardiness of this chapter in song.

Clang, clang, clang went the unemployment  
Ding, ding, ding went the crashed computer  
Zing, zing, zing went all my research  
From the moment it happened all I've wanted to do is nap and watch Bones and Criminal Minds and American Horror Story until I was able to refurbish a new laptop.

LAST TIME ON THE SERENITY PRAYER

Upon closing the front door, Veronica clamps a hand over her mouth, thrusts the bear into Logan's hands and runs for the bathroom. The door slams as Logan looks over the raggedy teddy in his hands. The bear is missing an eye and clearly well loved. Its little red sweater has faded, but the words on it are still clear enough for him to read with ease.

It says 'I luv u beary much.'

CHAPTER FIVE: Poison and Wine (and All Things That Can Be Purged)

Poison and Wine by The Civil Wars

** Since Kidnapping**

Logan stared at the old little bear for a long time. He knew he should have followed Veronica to make sure she was okay, (not that she would let him into help her, and everything was certainly NOT okay) but he couldn't stop staring gawking at the ratty teddy, even over the sounds of Veronica retching in the bathroom. The bear was clearly a well loved item of Laney's, one she had loved for a long time, possibly all of her young life.

I luv you beary much.

Veronica had either found the teddy, or she had the bear made for their daughter. Logan was stunned once again that she had cared enough. This bear had ties to Veronica and Logan's relationship. Albeit, it was the clandestine version that they had had very early on. It was a culmination of so many things, a list that Logan had to keep adding to, and it made him realize that in her own Veronica-y way she had been involving Logan in Laney's life even when he was not a part of hers. She felt he had made it clear to her all that time ago that he had no interest in it, but she still gave the little girl pieces of hm. The pictures. Her middle name. The bear now clutched to Logan's chest like Veronica had done during the press conference. All of this made Logan's already abused heart overfil with love for the strong courageous woman whom he had let down.

Never again.

He can hear the toilet flush and then the faucet turns on. A few beats later and Veronica walks back into what everyone is now calling The Gray Room. The front windows now boast Veronica's thick black fleece bed sheets to protect the occupants from outside intrusion. It gave the beautifully decorated room a nod to the old college days when people used sheets as curtains. It wasn't something Veronica particularly appreciated, but it kept the riff raff from being able to look inside, and for that she was grateful.

Veronica sides up to Logan and both now seem to feel ill at ease in her own home, like neither belonged there at all. So many people scuttled about either looking terribly busy or not at all. The CARD team pored over papers and had commandeered Veronica's white board from her office. A picture of Laney was adhered to it under the label 'Victim'. There were shots of Veronica and Logan as well. There was a question mark under the label 'Suspect(s)'. That settled well with exactly no one in the room. The Dining Room now looked more like a base of operations and less like a room where you could sit down and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family.

"You both did very well out there. It's quite plain to see that this is neither of your first endeavors into public media relations." Gunther nodded at them in clear approval and made his way to Blossfield and Reyes in the next room.

Gunther was not a stupid man. No one got to the rank of Captain without some brains in his or her head. It was clear Veronica and Logan were young when Veronica conceived the child. It was obvious due to Logan's lack of presence in his child's life that he had made several grave mistakes, and it was possible that there were mistakes on both ends. It was however, just as plain to see that Veronica was a good mother. Solid, dependable and willing to do what was best for the girl. He could see her inner strength of character. She was going to be a boon to the investigation and not a detriment. Logan, however new he was to fatherhood, he was already greatly entrenched into the undertaking of finding his child so that he could develop a true relationship with Laney. He had already shown admirable characteristics of loyalty and protectiveness. No matter what was happening behind closed doors, whatever they were or were not to each other, both Logan and Veronica were a united front where Laney was concerned.

This boded well. Gunther was pleased. At least, with this detail.

He would never say it out loud, for fear that the parents would hear. But he was becoming increasingly more nervous that if a ransom was not asked for in the next hour or so, if they did ever recover Laney, it would be her remains and not the little girl alive and well to bring home to her worried parents.

A commotion from outside was heard, which was strange in and of itself, because outside was a constant cacophony of noise since earlier this evening. An officer posted outside the front door popped his head in and cast worried and nervous eyes to his commanding officer.

"Uh, Mr. Echolls, you had better come here." From the sliver of outside the open doorway provided, flashes erupted and questions were thrown out.

"I'm here for Logan, man. Now get out of my way!" Logan could more so feel than see the daggers Veronica's eyes are shooting him, since he was currently avoiding all contact with the blonde woman. The ire was rolling off of her, and her body was spring coiled to launch, or climb up his body like a tree and rip his head off.

Both knew that voice.

"Shit."

"Logan, why is your pet monkey in my front yard causing a ruckus? Veronica's voice is so cold, he can feel the icicles attach to his pointy nipples. Fear. It was plain and simple, and it touched every pore in his body.

"I may have forgotten to call him since I got here. He was probably worried. I guess he saw the news?" Logan questions while looking quite sheepish, his voice getting higher and smaller as he went on.

The door opened all the way and a solid object heaved his way through, using his ass to close the thick wooden door.

She was fast. Faster than Blossfield entirely knew was humanly possible. A small hand darted out and reached for the first object it could get purchase on. A large black golf umbrella. The end of it was grasped and the ferruled end was jabbed into the torso of Dick Casablancas.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

It was then that the people gathered in the entry way and Gray Room collected enough time to process the exchange and attempt to stop her. Blossfield was the quickest and wrestled the item from Veronica.

Dick wrapped his arms around his person and dropped to the floor with only a small 'Omph!' and grunt.

Once again, silence was the bedfellow of all those gathered, minus Veronica's slight panting. Then, a high pitched trill of a laugh issued from Tully.

"Well fuck, Mars. Good to see you too."

**5 h 10 m Since Kidnapping**

"Excellent. Now that everyone is calm (pointed glances were aimed at Veronica who pointedly ignored them) please explain to me why exactly this gentleman, and I use that word quite loosely, is here." Gunther clasped his hands behind his back at his waist and was silent, clearly waiting for an answer from Dick. Silently demanding one.

To which he received nothing other than a small annoying shrill whistle from betwixt the teeth of the aforementioned tall and vacant man.

Gunther's brows began to furrow. Veronica's face began to redden once more and Logan saw her jaw twitching, very aware she was grinding her teeth. Tully giggled. Logan rolled his eyes and slapped his palm up the backside of Dick's head. He looked around and realized all eyes were upon him.

"Right-o. You were talking to me, brah? Logan here is my fam, man. He's the only one I've got. I may not like Ronnie here too much, she was always kind of a heinous bitch, if you know what I mean," Slight head nod, toothy grin. "But Logan hasn't been able to talk or think about anything else other than his sprog since he found out about her. If he has some shit hitting the fan, then that's where I will be. In front of the fan."

"You generally are the shit, you big stupid…" Veronica trailed off, even though she was speaking under her breath when Angela tilted her head towards the small blonde. She huffed but was silent.

"I appreciate that, Dick." Logan offered, and put his hand on the bulkier guys shoulder.

Gunther once again took control of the room, and took the CARD team to the side. "I want a thorough background check on Richard Casablancas Jr. I want to know what he had for breakfast on his 12th birthday. I also want background checks on Keith Mars, Alicia Fennel- Mars and Wallace Fennel. I want to know the people that are going to be voluntarily encroaching on this investigation."

While Gunther continues with Blossfield, Reyes and Tully, Veronica and Logan are sitting in the smaller club chairs. Logan's large tan hand rests gently on Veronica's bony knee and it seems both are ignorant to his hand's presence.

Everyone present is either busy being busy or looks like they belong there. Minus Dick. He stands awkwardly rocking from the tips of his toes to the balls of his feet, mindlessly whistling a tune. Veronica takes pains to pretend he is not in her living room. Logan squeezes his eyes shut and wishes he had a more mature, friend. One who didn't have a face that made Veronica want to punch it.

The whistling stopped. Dick snapped his fingers together in a gesture that symbolized he had remembered something.

"Oh, Dude. This was delivered to our room right before the news broke. Someone paid a bellhop to deliver it. That could be important, right?"

Once again Veronica moved faster than anyone in the room and snatched the manila envelope from Dick. Even through the package, she could feel a jewel case holding some type of CD. On the front it read;

Logan Echolls

DO AS WE SAY AND SHE LIVES.

Everyone gathers around the television. Seven people smashed together, huddled in a semi circle. Reyes and Veronica are in the front due to their lack of height. Gunther is off to the side of Reyes, Blossfield on the opposite side, shoulder to shoulder with Logan, who stands directly behind Veronica, chin on her head, hands clasped at her waist. Dick pokes his head between the two men. Tully uses his superior height over that of the men and looks very much like a meercat.

The screen comes to life with swanky modern office backdrop. All chrome, glass and white and clearly expensive. Center of the desk was a large black leather chair faced away from the camera. If the chair and room were representative of the person in said chair he or she were imposing and ruthless lacking all warmth and life.

The chair swivels and a face appears. The first thing your eyes were drawn to was the thick spider web-like scar that crossed from the right temple to just under the nostril. A small comma shaped scar in the left corner of both lips makes Logan clench the hands at Veronica's waist. He can feel her stomach muscles clench and quiver.

The hair is longer and slicked back.

The eyes are even more dead.

But the small mouth complete with evil smirk are the same. Cold shivery dread runs full long down Logan's spine. He starts to gasp and he can't quite figure out if it's shock or if his body has forgotten how to bring in oxygen.

"It seems 'Someday' has come, has it not, Echolls?"

It was just a video, he was just staring at a webcam or a GoPro or whatever the fuck, but Logan could swear those eyes were burning into him, just for him. To let him know that you can't always get away with stupid shit and never face the repercussions.

Gory Sorokin had finally caught up to him, and his daughter was paying the price for his youthful stupidity.

**5 h 15 m Since Kidnapping**

"I can only imagine this video has made its way to you as well, Mars, I'm sure you're still hot to trot, shaking those cute little pom poms. Have they gotten anymore _voluptuous_ with motherhood? But I digress, although pleasurable, a thought for another time, we have business to attend to."

A muscle in his scarred cheek twitches and his whole face contracts in pain. While the scar looks as old as the one Logan gave him on his mouth, this one seems to still cause pain.

"I have to say, the two of you make a pretty little child. She seems willful like you, Veronica, but that can always be remedied." His hands steeple together in front of himself and Veronica can see an angry bite mark in the webbing between his pointer finger and thumb. Pride and fear do a queer little dance in her stomach. She had taught Laney to bite there in self defense as it is an extremely tender and sensitive location.

"You may be asking yourselves why now, after so much time has passed? The answer is simple. I do not forget a transgression. I do not let slide an offense, no matter how large or small. The only question was..was 'how?' It became glaringly obvious when it came to my attention that you were now aware of your child's existence, as I have been from the very start. You have never been far from my clutches, Veronica Mars.

However, that is enough for now. I am not a stupid man. Giving away everything at the beginning of our game? That would certainly be an amateur move, this isn't a Bond movie. Stay tuned, I will be contacting you again, when the mood strikes. I will end this missive now with just a glimpse of Delaney. She is such a dear child. My tastes usually run somewhat older, but exemptions can always be made for just the right specimen. Remember, this is a kindness. There willbe dire consequences from here on out when my directives are not followed. For everyone. Until next time…"

The camera pans to the left and on the white leather couch sits Laney. Her ankles and wrists are bound together with zip ties. A silk scarf is being used as a gag. Her eyes are wide with terror and dry tear tracks trail down both cheeks making her look wretchedly tiny and lost. One of her cheeks is so bright red it looks aflame. The mar on her pale face is in the shape of a hand, the fingers horrifyingly outlined.

At this Logan loses what small grip he had on his sanity. He detangles himself from Veronica and pushes through the group. He paces like a captured tiger in a small cage and rams his fist through the glass pane of the open French door.

He panics as blood flows from his broken knuckles to the floor. _Oh God!_ He thinks. _That gorgeous girl is in peril once again because I could not get my shit together. I walk into her life and without even knowing it, endangering her life. He has at least hit her, but he suggested he was going to…she's only six…I think I'm going to be sick…Veronica is going to…going to…I can't even think of something terrible enough… Wait, why hasn't she already ripped into me verbally and handed me my own ass simultaneously?_

Logan pulls himself out of his shitty inner dialogue to watch Veronica's shrewd eyes dart cross the screen seeing things he would never. She mutters to herself and massages her temple.

"She recognizes someone in the room. Her attention keeps darting to the far corner and coming back to the camera. Can you pause on the last frame? Keep going…keep going… THERE! Look at the bottom of the screen! She knows this woman!" Veronica gasps.

And with that, Veronica closes her eyes and begins to cry once more, but sure enough, just for the briefest moment, a hot pink stiletto can be seen.

A shuddery breath slips its way out of Veronica. She visibly becomes smaller, draws into herself.

"I need a few minutes. I'll be upstairs. Please let me know if anything changes or when my family arrives. I just need…" With that she tapers off and just wanders out of the room like she had never been inside this house before, like it is a museum and he exhibits kind of suck.

"She is quite spectacular. She will be extraordinarily helpful in this investigation." Blossfield announces to the room in general and walks over to the bank of computers and tech nerds to see about getting the videos enhanced.

"Logan, I think there is quite a bit of explaining you and Veronica have to do. How the hell are both of you knowledgeable of and able to piss off the head of a notorious crime syndicate?" Gunther exclaims.

"Dude isn't that the dude you beat the shit out of because he released that sex tape of Veronica's?!" Dick whisper yells, and clearly from the absolute silence of the first floor everyone hears him. Once again, Tully giggles.

"I'm sorry, sex tape?" Reyes inquires, speaking for the first time in quite awhile, having decided her time was best spent observing.

"Dick you have to start shutting the fuck up, or I will let Veronica kill you. Yeah, about the tape. College, amirite?" Logan gave a helpless shrug, his mind still racing over the tidbit Veronica gave them.

Gory is working with a woman, one that is recognizable to their almost six year old. This shifts the investigation entirely.

Who do they know that hates them enough, _**HIM**_ enough to help a deranged fuck like Gory Sorokin kidnap a kid?

"Perhaps this is a good time to mention that you are bleeding profusely on Ms. Mars's rug." Tully says, looking a little ill at the sight of the blood dripping to the wood floor.

**6 h 00 m Since Kidnapping**

The noise from downstairs, the cacophony and bustle of misery and anxiousness was just a gentle thrum from the small balcony that was just a few steps up from Veronica's master bedroom. The doors were thrown open and the gossamer drapes fluttered in the dismal breeze from the lake. The inky black night had not burned off the oppressive heat, but the slight breeze kept the swelter away. Atop a small table set in the far corner, an IPod was docked and familiar music strummed from it, Logan was sure he recognized it, but all of his attention was centered on the woman pressing herself to the wooden rails of the balcony, as if she wanted to take flight and leave this nightmare behind her.

A glass of white wine rested to her side, and her fingers played with the stem. She looked like a beautiful cliché. All soft hair swinging in the wind, pale skin aglow from the moon and stars. From the back, if one didn't know her, one might call this moment romantic in nature. The rogue finding his damsel in an isolated location, butterfly wing drapes, twinkle lights, guitars plucking in the background. Needing the comfort of the debonair man, but unwilling to show weakness, but deep down, being a fragile creature that was just waiting for someone to save her.

But Logan did know her. Even after all of this time, he probably knew her better than any other human other than the daughter they shared. He could see her thin shoulders tense, knowing that the weight of the world rested upon them. The other hand that ran through her hair was harsh.

"You know, I almost died the first time I heard this song," Was how Veronica started their conversation. "Laney was sick, Strep, and Mac spent a few days with us to help me out. Her fever broke and she finally got some sleep. We were having a glass of wine, and this song came up on her shuffle, I had never heard of the band before. I choked so hard she had to give me the Heimlich."

Logan took the time to actually listen to the guitar. He recognized the band now, The Civil Wars. He even had the album. While he has attached himself to a different song on that particular album, he could easily see why Veronica preferred this song. It hurt his heart to think about how much his crass, careless inaction that spring day had such a ripple down effect for her, and all of the times right before then; seeing the video and dying a quick death on the inside, beating up Piz and feeling happy, laying that smack down on Gory and feeling nothing because he had already lost her. It all led to this. His chest hitched, and his hand clenched on the glass of the door, the ace bandage becoming tighter across his knuckles.

Once again, every bad thing in her life was his fault, and he had no fucking idea on how to make it better, make it okay.

_You only know what I want I you to  
I know everything you don't want me to  
Your mouth is poison your mouth is wine  
You think your dreams are the same as mine_

_I don't love you, but I always will  
I don't love you, but I always will  
I don't love you, but I always will  
I always will…_

Logan's heart, hidden and frozen by a lifetime of people ripping in to shreds, constricted. When this ordeal was over, and his daughter was safely back in his and Veronica's arms, he was going to make an appointment with a well known Cardiologist. This past week had aged him, he was sure of it. How much more could one little fragile organ take before it told him to go fuck himself and just peace the fuck out?

He was certain that Veronica had stopped loving him a long time ago. He expected no less, it wasn't like he ended up being very careful with hers. Could he take this song at face value? Was this something adults did? Did this happen in real life, like it did in books? You hear a song and sudden you understood exactly what the heroine was thinking?

Pffffftttt.

_I wish you'd hold me when I turn my back  
(Well) The less I give the more I get back  
Your hands can heal, your hands can bruise  
I don't have a choice, but I'd still choose you_

_I don't love you, but I always will  
I don't love you, but I always will  
I don't love you, but I always will  
I don't love you, but I always will_

_I don't love you, but I always will  
I don't love you, but I always will  
I don't love you, but I always will_

_I always will  
I always will  
I always will  
I always will_

"I never thought a song could explain so well things I was thinking and couldn't verbalize. I hated you. I still hate you, and I think a part of me always will hate you. But until the day I die, there will be a part of me that loves you. The part of you that gave me Laney. The part of you that lives inside her. I don't think I could hate the man that gave me my reason for breathing. I don't think I was really alive until she took her first breath. She needs to come home to me, Logan." Veronica ended in a whisper, the never ending gloss of tears in her eyes.

Logan felt like he fell into that shitty vampire movie Heather made him watch. _Twilight_? All that shit pile was, was meaningful close ups of the two leads. He felt like he had just been staring at her since he parked his skinny ass in her life. He desperately tried to focus on her words and how well she communicated these days. It wrung him up in knots. It clouded up his thought processes and made him proportional amounts of amazed and fragmented. If only she had had this courage… then. Things he was entirely positive of, would have been so very different.

"I didn't realize you had such a range of feelings, Veronica. Other than rage, vengeance and hunger that is." _For fuck sake's, man_! _Could you stop to think for just a second! A single sentence that is all I ask!_

A single well manicured eyebrow rose up her forehead. "Kids don't let you get away with shit, Logan. You can't keep your feelings bottled up from a toddler. Toddlers also suck when you are on your own with one. You will talk to anyone, anywhere to try and understand those mini tyrants. After having a kid, you learn to communicate right quick, or you might as well not do it at all. There was no way I was going to give up on her like Lianne did to me."

Logan was smart enough to just nod empathetically and make his eyes plead with her to know how proud of her he was. Of how aware he was that his daughter was raised far better with her, and her alone than he would have ever been able to do.

How much he loved her.

Of how he wanted to take her into his arms, and never let her go. Either of them. All of them.

He didn't know how to say any of that. Could he ever? It seems that the years had flipped them all around. He was always the one sticking his neck out, trying, emoting and trying to communicate. This Veronica was so foreign to him.

He wasn't sure her feeling her feelings made him feel good.

And then the headache started to come about. Everything was wrong.

Silence flits across them like the wind. It becomes heavy and oppressive like Chicago humidity. Neither knew where to go from here. It wasn't like they could get into a serious conversation when their life was in crisis.

Life was a game of Jenga and everything was tits up.

Finally, they once again made eye contact and they communicated in the only way they ever had any success with.

Eyes.

Neither knew if anything at all would come of this, whatever this was, but any and all talk would not occur until Laney was back. There was however, something much more pertinent and alarmingly awful that was just on the tips of their tongues.

Gory Sorokin.

He once again was wreaking havoc for mostly unknown reasons, to an unknown end.

While the 'sex tape' more or less fell into his lap, taking Laney was done with thought, planning, and the desire to hurt and destroy. At its most minute, it was illegal in the eyes of the law, and he had already shown his hand enough to show law enforcement he was behind it. It was more than legality to Logan though, and he suspected Veronica felt the same. It was war…

_Someone's always supposed to pay, right? Isn't that the rule we live by?_

"This is all my fault, Veronica," Logan whispers to her, and all he gets in return is that same eyebrow raise. No yelling, no threats or even tears, so he continues. "I was the one who pissed Gory off so badly in college."

"And I started in on him, Logan. Neither of us, especially me, were ever good at letting things go back then. It ended up ruining us. We were two fucked up kids, in a fucked up time, with life just continually fucking kicking in the teeth. I'm even secure enough to admit that for you, I was the one usually doing the kicking." Logan's mouth became smaller and puckered a bit. "What is it, Logan?"

"All of this. You. I think I am just finally starting to crack."

'You certainly have gotten a crash course in being a parent. I can't help but be a little appreciative that you are here during all of this, Logan."

"You heard Gory, Veronica! As soon as I got myself involved in Laney's life, he came for her!"

"Then you also heard that he has known about Laney since the very beginning! Has been watching the both of us since before she was born! You coming here was just a convenient excuse! Like he even needed one, because as you and I very well know, Gorya Sorokin is several fries short of a happy meal, Logan!"

Both were screaming now, inching closer and closer.

"Here I am, back in your life, one fucking foot in, and shit has gone to hell!"

"Goddamn it, Logan!" Veronica screamed, and dug a hand into the short hairs on the back of his neck. She launched up on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his.

Logan, being the smart, well educated man that he was stood there, wondering if all of this was just some bender he was on, because certainly, Veronica Mars kissing Logan Echolls only happened on alcohol fueled insanity.

Yet, it never stopped. Veronica still had her lips sealed to his. So he did the only thing that made a lick of sense. He returned the kiss, wrapping his long arms around her waist and tucking his chin to his chest easing her strain.

The kiss seemed endless. It felt like the first time, at the Camelot. It felt like an ending and a beginning. It made absolutely no sense considering what was happening around them, but at the same time, it made all of the sense in the world. Veronica and Logan. They were the answer as well as the problem.

A timid knock was heard from the door of Veronica's bedroom door, and they sprung away from one another like teenagers caught necking on the couch.

"Um, Ms. Mars? We have an officer waiting at the airport, and your father and the rest of your family should be landing in the next hour. Also, a woman by the name of...Mac? Is here. She's causing a ruckus and is demanding to see you. She also punched Mr. Casablancas in the throat upon seeing him. We need you down there."

Veronica daintily snorted and removed herself from around Logan.

"Good ol' Mac. Always a ray of fucking sunshine." With that, she straightened her shirt, and walked back into her room and then out of it, without a backwards glance.

It kind of made Logan feel better.

Maybe Veronica hadn't worked through all of her issues quite yet.

So this is shorter than usual and it's been close to an eon since I updated, so I wanted to get this to you as a NYE present. I'll get my act together in the new year. Happy New Years Eve all of my lovelies, be safe.


	6. Into The Airwaves

DISCLAIMER: All Veronica characters and commandeered dialogue are the creation of Rob Thomas (we must praise him). Situations in this particular story are of my own brainskull. All hail Rob Thomas in all of his epic grandeur and brilliance, may all of us be as genius as him. However, he can keep the second half of season three Veronica, that bitch was a total asshat and I hate her.

Amen.

AN: This chapter will touch upon the topic of abortions. Everyone has an opinion on the matter, and personally, I am Pro-Choice. I believe all of the characters in this chapter have similar views on the subject matter. Any negative opinions on getting one, is how Logan went about voicing it to Veronica, and not a personal opinion on it. All of my boys support a woman's right to choose.

ALSO- This chapter shows a pretty dark Logan post Veronica disappearing. I know people want me to get on with the mystery of Gory and Laney and the mystery lady. I promise we will get there. I heard this song come on shuffle though, and had such a vivid picture of Logan just wasting away on a beach somewhere, lost in his brooding. I tried to ignore it, but LogieBear just kept screaming in my head to tell his story. So here you go.

CHAPTER 6: Into the Airwaves

He didn't so much wake up, as his internal organs protested his continued state of aliveness and they revolted simultaneously in mutiny. He took inventory as he crawled from the plush carpeted floor whence he found himself to the tile floor ahead of him, rightly assuming it was a bathroom.

Eyes? Fuzzy. Were they Red? Undoubtedly. Tongue? The consistency of cement and most certainly giving off a smell that was reminiscent of a dead elephant's asshole. Limbs? All seem functional, if a little unsteady.

All in all, Logan Echolls would consider this a win.

As his body heaved needlessly, considering there was nothing inside of him other than the organs that hated him, he wondered, yet again, what had become of his 'charmed' life. It had been well over a year since he had last seen Veronica, and it had felt like an eternity within the confines of purgatory. She marched herself _and rightly so,_ he thinks, out of his life, and it was at that exact moment he realized his life was not worth living at all. Not without her.

The first 18 hours after The Baby Bomb dropped, he had spent with Dick on a wicked bender to end all previous benders. His high school benders would look at that one in shock, awe and possibly, disgust. He partied until he was thrown out of several different private establishments and vacating his stomach in several different public settings and in one very, to his horror, memorable moment, on some public passerby. He passed out for almost 24 hours after that, and when he woke, hungover and disoriented; he remembered all he had done. All he had said. His old friend Shame, exploded within him.

He was going to fix it.

_From an empty room on the first floor  
As the cars pass by the liquor store  
I deconstruct my thoughts at this piano  
And it's all that I can do to stay with  
All the things I didn't say to you  
Before you moved across the country_

Her car wasn't at her apartment. It wasn't at Mars Investigations either. He was too chickenshit to actually walk into either location, on the very real chance Keith Mars was going to murder him. _Hello, sir. Is Veronica here? You know, your daughter whom you love more than your own life. The one I publically humiliated when I told her to get an abortion. Yes! I did debauch said daughter, thus getting her in her pregnant state. I'll stand quite still so you may shoot me now._

Wallace. He would go to see Wallace. He was a pretty understanding guy. Of all of the moons and people that orbited Veronica Mars, Wallace Fennell would be the one who saw all sides and would attempt to be fair. The two of them had even come to a sort of understanding in their Sociology class, and gave absent head nods when they saw each other on campus after he and Veronica broke up.

Logan was able to get the address for Wallace's family home, and Mrs. Fennell had told him that Wallace was still packing up his dorm. She was, at her core, a polite woman, but Logan could tell she at least knew some of what had happened. Her voice aimed for pleasant, but was not quite there, and her brow was furrowed.

Logan would have settled for the bitter cold of Mrs. Alicia Fennel, instead of the black eye he was now sporting. Wallace was apparently, a no go.

Piz answered the door, and had just enough time to awkwardly side step away from the doorway before Wallace tackled the taller man and cold cocked him in the face. After doing so, he allowed Piz to pull him off of the tall gangly man on the ground, however with a little reluctance from both of the boys not named Logan Echolls.

"Yeah, I know. I fucked up. Another chapter in my book of fuck ups. Veronica seems to have gone AWOL. If you could possibly tell me where she is so I can talk to her, get all of this straightened out, it would be appreciated." Logan says, gently probing his eye area, making sure nothing was cracked. Wallace laughs with no humor.

"'Take care of'? You wanna make sure V got that _abortion_, right?" the shorter boy all but spits out. Logan sighs, and has the decency to blush.

"Only if she wants it, I guess, but I was a little, you know, not sober when that all went down, so I kinda remember enough to know I need to apologize."

"Apologize? You think an apology will fix this shit, Echolls? _Yeah, Veronica, I'm sorry I called you a shank in public and told you that you weren't good enough to have my bastard. That I told you to get an abortion because you'll be a shit mom, just like your mother before you. So. Sorry. _ THAT is going to make it better?!" Logan cringes a little, remembering some of that occurring, and basically thinking of apologizing along those guidelines. It was not going to be easy.

But then again, it never was where Veronica Mars was concerned.

"So I may need to apologize every day until I collect retirement. It's best to start now, is it not?" Piz who had mostly sat in the proverbial and literal corner as if ready to pull Wallace off of Logan once more, because that's what boys from Beaverton did, opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by Wallace.

"She's gone. Left like a thief in the night after getting ridiculed by the entirety of Neptune. People pointed and laughed. Some of the girls who got with you spit on her. _SPIT _on her."

"Parker slapped her." Logan's jaw drops at that. Parker actually got violent? Parker actually got the upper hand on Veronica? It was a sign of the coming apocalypse as well as a good indicator of Veronica's state of mind. Both Piz and Wallace continue to berate Logan, but Logan had successfully tuned them out after Wallace informed him that Veronica was gone.

She left.

Neptune.

Wallace.

Mac.

Her Dad.

Him.

"Where did she go?" Logan interrupted the guys, who had begun to bicker with the other for lack of anything else to do in their Veronicaless world. Their squabbling petered off. Piz rumpled his already rumpled hair. Wallace's mouth scrunched up and Logan could hear his jaw pop with how hard he was holding it. Finally, his lips quirked the smallest bit, as if he had decided on how exactly he was going to word his next statement, and Logan knew he was waiting to inflict the most hurt possible. Wallace wasn't vindictive by nature either, so for Logan to have finally reached Wallace's threshold of decency meant volumes.

He knew he was not going to like the answer.

"I don't know. She didn't tell me, and even if she had, I would rather sew my mouth shut than tell you. She packed up and left, all alone while you got your rocks off and partied. Nice picture, by the way. Now, get the hell out." He then pushed Logan with a surprising amount of force out of the dorm room and the door literally hit Logan on the ass on his way out.

His head hung low, and wallowing in his remorse, he almost missed the paper clippings posted in the Student Union. It was entirely expected, and yet still horrifying.

'_**Echolls heir parties—has heir apparent? **_

_Logan Echolls, orphaned son of dearly departed actors Aaron and Lynn Echolls parties heavily with friend, and fellow resident of Neptune, Richard 'Dick' Casablancas JR., (pictured) last evening. It has been told to this publication from several reliable sources that Mr. Echolls former girlfriend, one Veronica Mars is expecting. _

_Ms. Mars claims the child was fathered by Mr. Echolls. _

_If you recall, Veronica Mars is the daughter of former Neptune Sheriff Keith Mars. Both have somewhat dubious pasts. _

_Is it possible that Ms. Mars is lying about the paternity of her child? Or the pregnancy itself?_

_We will continue to report more on this dramatic and sensational story as it unfolds!_

Included with the small turd of an article was a picture of Logan, probably from the night in question, bare chested and giving 'The Shocker' to the camera with his left hand. Dick was doing similar. Clutched in his right hand was an open bottle of tequila. Said arm was wrapped around a very amply curved brunette. Even in the photo it was obvious her hand was somewhere south of the picture.

For not nearly close to the first time in his nineteen years, Logan wished to die.

_And from the burning building where I lay  
As I watch the stars become the day  
The L.A. girls were lacing up their sneakers  
They run the boardwalks and the beach  
This fishbowl life is all they need  
It's everything I needed too_

_Until I heard the news  
I'll send this message through the speakers  
They told me that you moved  
I'll cross this country on a frequency_

_But I am slipping through, I am slipping through  
I am slipping into the airwaves  
And this is nothing new, you are slipping through  
My fingers and into the airwaves  
The static's where you'll find me_

Logan felt less than human. He had spent the summer trying to figure out where Veronica was. He didn't even come close to finding her; since it was quite clear she did not want to be found. He would need someone like Veronica to find Veronica.

Several PIs had tried, and all had failed.

Wallace had gone to Africa with Invisible Children and was pretty incommunicado. Piz had gone back to Beaverton and frankly, didn't have enough brain cells to rub together where Veronica was concerned. Mac had been accepted to a summer program at New York University, with the option to transfer in the fall and was decidedly and unrepentantly ignoring Logan when he had tried to get a hold of her.

Finally, Logan and broken down and come crawling to Keith Mars. He had just stood there, not speaking in the doorway of his tiny apartment, Backup standing in a sinister manner at his side. His eyes spoke volumes. His utter disappointment in the young man before him, as if every bad thought he had ever had regarding Logan had come to fruition.

There was pain there too. His missed his daughter.

Logan could tell. He knew where Veronica was, and he would never tell Logan. He would never betray Veronica that way. Keith Mars was the last good father in Neptune and there was no way he was going to throw that all away for a sack of shit like Logan Echolls, Daughter Impregnator. Sadly, Keith just shook his head at Logan and the door closed, quietly with but a snick of noise.

It felt like a slam though.

Logan was alone.

_From the corner by the studio  
The gold-soaked afternoon comes slow  
I deconstruct my thoughts and I am walking by  
On third street, the freak show thrives  
Santa Monica's alive, but  
Something's not so right inside_

He had failed out before the first semester was even half way over. He just didn't care. About anything. About anyone.

Parker clung to him like sand after a surf, at the start of the new term but he was finally able to extricate her barbs when he told her how he was never going to fuck her, and she was never going to be anything more than a sad Veronica replacement. He went on to say that all she ever was to him was a distraction from Veronica. That he could tell she was shit in bed, and that she couldn't come anywhere near how good Veronica fucked him. That she wasn't shit at giving head either, and he had to think about Veronica to come.

He was brutal and he didn't give a good goddamn.

_Living with the news  
I'll send this message through the speakers  
They told me that you moved  
I'll cross this country on a frequency_

_But I am slipping through, I am slipping through  
I am slipping into the airwaves  
The static's where you'll find me  
And this is nothing new, you are slipping through  
My fingers and into the airwaves  
Into the airwaves_

Around December, he found himself overlooking a cliff somewhere in Baja California, wondering if the drop into the inky water would kill him. With his luck, he would survive. If Veronica had kept the baby (and since he was being honest with himself, his little stunt in the quad probably had her running for the Neptune Free Clinic ((not that he blamed her one single iota)) she would be due around now. The thought made him beyond melancholy. He essentially had killed the only thing that could possibly ever love him.

A couple walking along the beach nearby wrapped in each other's arms and enjoying a romantic evening stroll hear a man screaming and sobbing. By the time authorities find Logan, he is unconscious, liquor bottles strewn around him, knuckles ripped open and bleeding heavily, still whimpering Veronica's name.

_So hold on, it's gonna be a hard day  
So hang on  
Don't panic, don't panic  
There simply is no need_

_It's gonna be a hard day  
It's gonna be a hard day  
Don't panic, don't panic  
We are hanging here  
We are hanging here_

_I am slipping through, I am slipping through  
I am slipping into the airwaves  
The static's where you'll find me  
And this is nothing new, you are slipping through  
My fingers and into the airwaves  
Into the airwaves_

_It's gonna be a hard day  
It's gonna be a hard day  
So hang on  
Don't panic, don't panic  
There simply is no need_

_It's gonna be a hard day  
It's gonna be a hard day  
It's gonna be a hard day  
Don't panic, don't panic  
We are hanging here_

Court appointed rehab was better than Logan imagined. And by that, he meant he was close to having Dick bake a gun into a cake so he could take himself out of this fuckery.

As glamorous as sharing a 9x11 with Jaime, the heroin addict who had already offered a blowjob for a fix, Logan was just a touch stir crazy.

_I mean really? Is my drinking really a problem? Just because when I drink I usually find my fist in the nearest wall, and how when I don't drink my breakfast 1/8 my hands shake? How I wake up sometime and not only do I not remember the person or persons in my bed but what day or week it is? When I'm throwing up in the ocean, club, street, alley read: toilet I sob Veronica's name?_

_I didn't think so._

Totally in control.

Dr. Jessop insists that Logan drinks because he has been abandoned by literally anyone he has ever loved. Logan was pretty sure even Dick could have pondered that one, and made a point of checking to see if Belinda Jessop was an actual doctor, and not just someone the clinic found on the street and dressed up in a lab coat.

It was a kick in the pants when he found out she went to Stanford. Then there was that second kick in the pants was at the mention of Stanford, since that was _Shewhowillnotbenamed _first choice school.

Look at all of that growth. I can say her name and not even cringe. Much. At all. Anymore.

Stupid Blackout Wednesday for getting him into this mess.

He also was kinda not allowed in group therapy anymore. He got all of the other patients all riled up. He always had a devoted following, and his words seemed to incense the unwashed masses. Dr. J had relegated him to his room with a spiral notebook, a pen and the pithy little psychobabble of "You are your own worst enemy, Logan. Perhaps the only way you will get passed all of your inner demons in to get them all down on paper."

Logan sneered and turned his cheek at the idea. So much so that Logan's attorney had to inform him that if he didn't at least make an attempt at rehabilitation the Judge would revoke and he would be finally spending some time with Fisty McRapesalot.

Well shiiiit.

So here Logan sat, at the chipped but clean Formica table. His trimmed nailed rapped out a beat the he didn't recognize but it was soothing all of the same. He had all of that nervous energy. It constantly needed an outlet.

With a sigh and the smallest bit of trepidation, Logan opened up the cover of the notebook.

_December 18__th__, 2008_

_Dear Logan,_

_Papa was a rollin' stone._

_Momma, I'm depending on you to tell me the truth._

Easy does it with the truthbombs there, Logan.

Possibly also the snark.

Just hang in there, buddy.

_It's gonna be a hard day  
But we are hanging here  
It's gonna be a hard day  
We are hanging here  
We are hanging here_

Endnotes:

I know this really isn't a step forward in the story, but really, Logan would not let me let that go. My poor Logan, so beautiful, so damaged. But at least, look, you get to see him hit rock bottom and the beginning of him getting started on the right track, with his personal health and his career.

Would anyone be interested in seeing Veronica in this similar timeline? Her pregnancy and the beginnings of Delaney? Writing this got some stirrings for it, but it is not necessary to the plot or path. Pleaser review and let me know your thoughts on the matter.

I have gotten a flutter of reviews in the last few days that I am going to address. Until quite recently, I have quite enjoyed only positive reviews from very lovely and well intentioned people. Here are a few things I would like to make clear. Logan is indeed a damaged and emotionally fragile person. He is also passionate, whimsical, and he gives his whole heart to the women he loves. My Veronica is NOT in any way too perfect. She has all of the same flaws that she had during the show, however; perhaps some of her sharper edges have been smoothed out by motherhood. Being responsible for the well being of a child, and in turn, receiving their love and unadulterated joy can melt the coldest of marshmallow hearts. As the story continues Veronica will have to face the person she is, and always will be in order to save Delaney. We shall all get to share in the joy that is Angry!Vernonica. And Delaney. I chose that name because I thought it was a strong, solid name for a little girl who has as much personality as she does. She is after all, half Logan and half Veronica! It can also be shortened and feminized as I have done with calling her Laney. Any time I have ever heard the name is has been in association with a girl's name, but technically, as it has Gaelic and French histories, it is gender neutral. That being said, I am not refusing her gender, so suck it anonymous guest, girls can be 'girly' and 'feminine' and 'dainty' even if they are named Ronald.

Lastly, thank you to all that have stood by as a struggled to finish this. Thank you for the great reviews that make my day and the positive thoughts. 2016 has been kinder, and the job front has much improved. I look forward to the thoughts from this snippet into the past, and please don't hate me! We all knew even canon Logan crashed and burned for a while before he became supersexypilotman.

The date in Logan's journal. Anybody hypothesize its significance?


End file.
